Just like a dem

[85Sooner]

Left Leaning Bloggers now want labor union to provide benefits.

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.



Funny Drudge Seems to do okay on his own.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070806/unionized_bloggers.html?.v=2

I just have to laugh so hard it hurts.:D :D :D :D :D :D

[Harry Beanbag]

Madrak hopes that regardless the form, the labor movement ultimately will help bloggers pay for medical bills. It's important, she said, because some bloggers can spend hours a day tethered to computers as they update their Web sites.

"Blogging is very intense -- physically, mentally," she said. "You're constantly scanning for news. You're constantly trying to come up with information that you think will mobilize your readers. In the meantime, you're sitting at a computer and your *** is getting wider and your arm and neck and shoulder are wearing out because you're constantly using a mouse."


I don't believe more pathetic or more humorous sentences have ever been written. Wow.

[mdklatt]

Left Leaning Bloggers now want labor union to provide benefits.

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.



OMG! They want group health insurance benefits?! Is there no end of evil in this world? If they want health insurance they should just move to Europe.

[Jerk]

OMG! They want group health insurance benefits?! Is there no end of evil in this world? If they want health insurance they should just move to Europe.

....or get a real job.

[mdklatt]

....or get a real job.

Do you have health benefits at work?

[Jerk]

Do you have health benefits at work?

Yes, I do.

If the bloggers want benefits, they can go find a job that offers that to them.

[Jerk]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't bloggers people who write a bunch of stuff on the internet and their mom reads it?

[royalfan5]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't bloggers people who write a bunch of stuff on the internet and their mom reads it?
Some people are that way, just like some people do a little trucking for their own purposes. People that run blogs like the Gawker family, et.al are professional writers just as a newspaper reporter is.

[mdklatt]

If the bloggers want benefits, they can go find a job that offers that to them.

So what you're saying is that self-employed people can suck it. If they want to take advantage of the same kind of group health plan that you have, too damn bad. Everybody else can pay retail for health care. Entrepeneurship should be squashed at every opportunity!

[Jerk]

So what you're saying is that self-employed people can suck it. If they want to take advantage of the same kind of group health plan that you have, too damn bad. Everybody else can pay retail for health care. Entrepeneurship should be squashed at every opportunity!

I don't have anything against them buying their own plan.

[jk the sooner fan]

the fact that you support unions for bloggers makes me laugh a whole bunch

[OUHOMER]

So what you're saying is that self-employed people can suck it. If they want to take advantage of the same kind of group health plan that you have, too damn bad. Everybody else can pay retail for health care. Entrepeneurship should be squashed at every opportunity!

i think their saying if your are good enough to have a following, the blogger should sell their stuff to pay for the benefits. I mean who is suppose to pay the bloggers benefits?

[mdklatt]

I don't have anything against them buying their own plan.

How is that not what they're doing? It seems like they're just trying to buy into a union health plan. BFD.

[mdklatt]

I mean who is suppose to pay the bloggers benefits?

Who do you think they're asking to pay their benefits? Do you think unions send mobsters to steal money from little old ladies so their members get free health care? (Okay, maybe some of them do.) The way I read it, the bloggers are simply trying to buy into (i.e pay for with their own money) an existing health plan because trying to buy health insurance on an individual basis is pretty damn impossible.

[leavingthezoo]

i swear if it wasn't for 85sooner, tuba and the clone, i'd have no idea about most things liberal. which is odd considering i've been deemed one. ;)

[mdklatt]

the fact that you support unions for bloggers makes me laugh a whole bunch

I really don't care one way or another, since it doesn't effect me one bit. It makes laugh a whole bunch that people are being demonized for trying to buy health insurance.

[mdklatt]

i swear if it wasn't for 85sooner, tuba and the clone, i'd have no idea about most things liberal. which is odd considering i've been deemed one. ;)

If have health insurance, you might be a liberal.

[Harry Beanbag]

Who do you think they're asking to pay their benefits? Do you think unions send mobsters to steal money from little old ladies so their members get free health care? (Okay, maybe some of them do.) The way I read it, the bloggers are simply trying to buy into (i.e pay for with their own money) an existing health plan because trying to buy health insurance on an individual basis is pretty damn impossible.


It is? Funny, I had no problem doing it a couple of years ago.

[mdklatt]

It is? Funny, I had no problem doing it a couple of years ago.

If it was cheaper than what you could get through your employer, your employer's benefits office sucks.

[Harry Beanbag]

If it was cheaper than what you could get through your employer, your employer's benefits office sucks.


Who said anything about it being cheaper? It's possible and less expensive that I thought it would be. Why all the animosity?

[mdklatt]

Who said anything about it being cheaper? It's possible and less expensive that I thought it would be. Why all the animosity?

No animosity intended. I just did some Googling, and yeah, it's a lot cheaper than I thought it would be. Of course, they are mostly PPO plans with coinsurance. Cheaper if you don't need the insurance, but if you do the expenses can pile on fast. Pick your poison.

Back to the main point of the thread, I don't see why bloggers aren't entitled to shop around for the best deal on health care like anybody else. If they want to join a union, who cares?

[85Sooner]

I just found it funny that a bunch of "Independent" bloggers( people who have decided to put their opinions up on a website for free) want to organize into a political union in order to vote themselves benefits. What if they don;t get them are they going to go on strike and spend their day surfing tmz?


Its kind of like someone telling me they are an artist. It is up to the people paying to determine whether they are an "artist" or not.

[mdklatt]

I just found it funny that a bunch of "Independent" bloggers( people who have decided to put their opinions up on a website for free) want to organize into a political union in order to vote themselves benefits. What if they don;t get them are they going to go on strike and spend their day surfing tmz?


It sounds to me like they're trying form a professional organization, more of a guild than a union. Like you said, it's not like they can go on strike.

[jk the sooner fan]

It sounds to me like they're trying form a professional organization, more of a guild than a union. Like you said, it's not like they can go on strike.

you've got bad hearing, or you didnt read the article


band together to form a labor union they hope will help them receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards.


"Bloggers are on our radar screen right now for approaching and recruiting into the union," said Gerry Colby, president of the National Writers Union, a local of the United Auto Workers. "We're trying to develop strategies to reach bloggers and encourage them to join."

no, not a guild.......a "labor union"

[85Sooner]

I wonder if they will have to comply with the fairness doctrine if it is brought back hmmmmmmm.....

[mdklatt]

you've got bad hearing, or you didnt read the article


Maybe you should go back and re-read it, too.


In a world as diverse, vocal and unwieldy as the blogosphere, there's no consensus about what type of organization is needed and who should be included. Some argue for a free-standing association for activist bloggers while others suggest a guild open to any blogger -- from knitting fans to video gamers -- that could be created within established labor groups.

Others see a blogger coalition as a way to find health insurance discounts, fight for press credentials or even establish guidelines for dealing with advertising and presenting data on page views.