I read via my friend David Krug at Telegraphik that bloggers in the political arena are wanting to start their own Blogger’s Union.  Ashley M Heher of Fox News is reporting that:

In a move that might make some people scratch their heads, a loosely formed coalition of left-leaning bloggers are trying to band together to form a labor union they hope will help them receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards.

This could only be coming from the left of course.  Oh sorry Tris, I said I wouldn’t do that!

I’m having a difficult time seeing Susie Blogger breaking kneecaps on a virtual picket line, or how this union would gather enough strength to actually be viable.  The article goes on to state:

Few bloggers are paid for their posts, and even fewer are able to make a living doing the work. But many say they often devote as much energy and time to their online musings as they do to their salaried careers.

While bloggers work to organize their own labor movement, their growing numbers are already being courted by some unions.

I’m wondering what companies like ours would do if a union system would be formed.  I’m certainly not a fan of unions, and I would not be adopting their charter or bylaws into my own organization.  Yes, I can see where it might make it better for private companies to get better paying blogging jobs, but I don’t think we are at that point yet with the adoption of blogging as a viable career in most companies.  Companies contact me everyday for wanting to hire a blogger, and when I give them a price, they usually get sticker shock.  They are not yet ready to pay full salaries and in most cases are not even ready to adopt what would even be close to minimum wages for the amount of time put into a blog post.

It seems that the Writer’s Unions is courting bloggers to join their ranks.  I’m not sure if this is in response to the latest debate of credentials for bloggers like journalists, but it seems that blogging is getting to be more of a mainstream idea in that arena.

The idea of a union may appeal to the ones looking for benefits, and other things unions bring, but I can see no way that they would compete with the free lancer, and the outsourcing taking place in corporations today.  I will definitely be watching the talk on this issue.  I will let you know now I would pay any of my bloggers the going union rate, but first we have to find companies willing to pay that amount.  Good luck to them.