Are Unions Trying to Organize Internet Content Writers?
Although Demand writers are not considered to be "employees", many writers believe they should be entitled to the protections and benefits offered by a typical employee/employer relationship. Writers at Demand Media Studios are paid an average of $15 per assignment for Ehow content, which usually amounts to less than 30 minutes worth of work for most writers. Special projects have the potential to pay more, but usually requires more effort on the content producer's part.
Many freelance writers agree that Demand Media offers substantially more in terms of pay, compared to other "content mills" available on the Internet. Writers at Demand are under no obligation to create a set amount of content pieces, work at a set pace or prevented from working with other clients; they are considered "independent contractors" in a legal and business sense.
While I will not divulge the source of the "pro unionization" talk offered up by a select group of Demand writers, I will voice my concerns about the mindset they apparently share.
According to Princeton's "Worldnetweb" website, by definition "freelance" means "a writer or artist who sells services to different employers without a long-term contract with any of them."
Freelancers at Demand "sell" their content to the media giant at a set amount. The argument that Demand writers should organize against the company is complete nonsense. Demand Media does not dictate the earning potential of their contractors- freelance writers ultimately decide who they will provide services to and how much those services are worth.
Writers that are not happy with the pay offered or expectations set forth by a client, are free to find other clients. There certainly are pros and cons associated with being an independent contractor compared to traditional employment, but the distinction between the two should be clearly defined for those in favor of unionization.
We have a free market at our disposal. It's high time certain writers take advantage of it, instead of hindering themselves due to their own unwillingness to adapt or put in the work required to be a true "freelancer."
Published by John Ehle
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2 Comments
Post a CommentHi Roger,
Thank you for your comment. The talk obviously isn't on the DMS forums. However, I will give you a hint- The evidence can be found on their "alter ego" site. I did not want to call attention to this particular site, but I'm sure, as a DMS content creator you might know where I'm talking about. I'm not necessarily "cheer leading" for Demand- I do have a bias against unions in general, derived from my personal experiences. Ultimately, It's up to the reader to decide if Demand would be a good source of income, or not. The main point I was trying to get across is that freelance writers are self-employed and not "locked in" to providing services to a particular client. People are free to organize if they wish, but they should do so knowing that they do not share an employer/employee relationship with Demand- Pro-Union supporters cannot "strike" or impede the flow of workers logging on to DMS, making any type of organiz
This is an interesting article, but I can't help the feeling that it is a thinly veiled advertisement to attract writers for DMS. There is no actual information regarding any DMS content creators trying to organize, nor does the article provide any sort of citations or references by which an interested reader (ME!) can find out more about the subject. It does provide text in almost every paragraph that discusses the positive aspects of writing for DMS, including the expected pay, how the article distribution system works and other enticing tidbits. I clicked on this link as a DMS content creator who had not heard of such a unionizing movement and with an interest in knowing what else might be happening behind the scenes with one of my primary customers. Instead, I came away disappointed that the article was merely an attempt to draw more content creators to the DMS website, effectively lowering my net worth to the company. Your writing is well done, but the content is questionable.