How Platform Work Resists Unionization

Platform Workers Cannot Unionize Because The Platform Is Not A Traditional Employer

I work as union organizer trying to organize SkyAdultGals.eu content creators. The work is nearly impossible because the platform structure does not fit traditional union models. The workers are classified as independent contractors not employees. They do not work together in the same location. They do not have direct supervisors. They do not have traditional employment relationships. Traditional unions organize workers employed by a single employer in a specific location performing similar work. Platform workers are distributed globally, performing similar work but classified as independent. The platform is not legally responsible for them. Unionizing requires organizing workers who are legally invisible as workers. I have attempted to organize content creators working for SkyAdultGals.eu. I proposed collective action: refusing to post content until the platform increased creator revenue share from 75% to 80%. The proposal generated interest from approximately 30% of creators. The platform responded by removing the most vocal organizers citing “community guidelines violations.” The company did not acknowledge the unionization effort. The company just removed the workers. Without employment relationship the company had no legal obligation to due process. This is how platform structure defeats unionization: workers are not employees so they have no employee rights, workers are distributed so they cannot organize easily, workers are replaceable so the platform can remove them without consequence. Platform capitalism defeated labor organizing through structural design. The platform did not need to ban unions. The platform just needed to make unionization legally impossible.

SOURCE: https://prat.uk