4 ms·

Bandcamp Employees Vote to Unionize

53 points by Kye 3y ago

pelasaco 3y ago
discussed here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35188953 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35188953
- dang 3y ago
  Thanks! Macroexpanded: Bandcamp Unionizes - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35188953 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35188953 - March 2023 (222 comments)
  - Kye 3y ago
    No, this is new. They finally had the vote and posted a new update today. >> "Today, a majority of eligible Bandcamp workers voted 31-7 in favor of forming Bandcamp United, a union represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). The vote results now await certification by the National Labor Relations Board, with a collective bargaining process to follow." I didn't think to check the Bandcamp blog. The post is here: https://blog.bandcamp.com/2023/05/19/bandcamp-and-bandcamp-united-release-joint-statement-on-union-vote/ https://blog.bandcamp.com/2023/05/19/bandcamp-and-bandcamp-u...
    - dang 3y ago
      Ok, unduped. Thanks!
Kye 3y ago
Direct link to the blog post which I would have posted instead had I thought to check: https://blog.bandcamp.com/2023/05/19/bandcamp-and-bandcamp-united-release-joint-statement-on-union-vote/ https://blog.bandcamp.com/2023/05/19/bandcamp-and-bandcamp-u... They're on Mastodon if you want to follow them there: https://union.place/@bandcampunited https://union.place/@bandcampunited And a Twitter version of the announcement: https://twitter.com/bandcampunited/status/1659657600386867206 https://twitter.com/bandcampunited/status/165965760038686720...
throwaway5959 3y ago
Does Bandcamp even make money? Edit: I want to be clear, I wasn’t sure if they made money but I’m a fan of the platform.
- jrajav 3y ago
  They were profitable even before the Epic Games acquisition, so any way you count it, yes. It makes sense too. They're one of the premier platforms for small, independent musicians to publish on (including physical releases, not just streaming), and have a lot of good will with that cohort thanks to fair, open policies.
  - throwaway5959 3y ago
    Interesting, thanks for that. I always liked the service (especially for DRM free titles from very small artists) but wasn’t sure how they could make money given how many artists were on the service.
    - solarkraft 3y ago
      > but wasn’t sure how they could make money given how many artists were on the service I don't see how everyone being the would be negative :) It might be the niches I like and it may be a bit self-selecting, but about 90% of artists (or more?) I really like are on there.
prepend 3y ago
How does a 31 person union afford the overhead of planning union stuff. Does it require members to volunteer time?
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  You overestimate the effort and cost required in planning union stuff. It's relatively low effort. (I contribute to labor organizing efforts and building tech to help scale it)
  - viraptor 3y ago
    Also, when things are not going great, people already have those meetings anyway. (If they care enough about staying at the company) When you care enough to organise an union, I suspect it overall just replaces time spent on grumbling about work during/after hours.
  - pg_1234 3y ago
    Yeah, instead of going above and beyond for the company, just go above and beyond for your colleagues. Same workday, just properly compensated.
- MilnerRoute 3y ago
  In a tweet today Bandcamp United said they had an additional 16 ballots (beyond the 31 that were cast). Management had contested those 16 ballots, so they weren't included in the final tally. https://twitter.com/bandcampunited/status/1659658210767151130 https://twitter.com/bandcampunited/status/165965821076715113...
- rakoo 3y ago
  It doesn't have to be overhead, you're already not paid for the entirety of your work anyway. Take time off your work time.
annexrichmond 3y ago
> Today, a majority of eligible Bandcamp workers voted 31-7 in favor of forming Bandcamp United, What is considered an eligible Bandcamp worker? Quick glance at LinkedIn suggests there are 200+ employees
diebeforei485 3y ago
As layoffs spread I expect more of this to happen. At-will employment is barbaric (unless they're like a brand new employee who is clearly unable to perform the job or something). Union contracts should focus on unconditional notice periods prior to termination for all employees. If companies are smart, they will get ahead of it by voluntarily implementing this for all employees.
solarkraft 3y ago
This is nice. I'll buy on Bandcamp with an even better feeling from now on. I assume that the average Bandcamp customer will be at least slightly in favor of this - the whole company's concept is based on fairness.

53 points by Kye 3y ago

pelasaco 3y ago

discussed here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35188953 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35188953

dang 3y ago
Thanks! Macroexpanded: Bandcamp Unionizes - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35188953 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35188953 - March 2023 (222 comments)
- Kye 3y ago
  No, this is new. They finally had the vote and posted a new update today. >> "Today, a majority of eligible Bandcamp workers voted 31-7 in favor of forming Bandcamp United, a union represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). The vote results now await certification by the National Labor Relations Board, with a collective bargaining process to follow." I didn't think to check the Bandcamp blog. The post is here: https://blog.bandcamp.com/2023/05/19/bandcamp-and-bandcamp-united-release-joint-statement-on-union-vote/ https://blog.bandcamp.com/2023/05/19/bandcamp-and-bandcamp-u...
  - dang 3y ago
    Ok, unduped. Thanks!

Kye 3y ago

Direct link to the blog post which I would have posted instead had I thought to check: https://blog.bandcamp.com/2023/05/19/bandcamp-and-bandcamp-united-release-joint-statement-on-union-vote/ https://blog.bandcamp.com/2023/05/19/bandcamp-and-bandcamp-u... They're on Mastodon if you want to follow them there: https://union.place/@bandcampunited https://union.place/@bandcampunited And a Twitter version of the announcement: https://twitter.com/bandcampunited/status/1659657600386867206 https://twitter.com/bandcampunited/status/165965760038686720...

throwaway5959 3y ago

Does Bandcamp even make money? Edit: I want to be clear, I wasn’t sure if they made money but I’m a fan of the platform.

jrajav 3y ago
They were profitable even before the Epic Games acquisition, so any way you count it, yes. It makes sense too. They're one of the premier platforms for small, independent musicians to publish on (including physical releases, not just streaming), and have a lot of good will with that cohort thanks to fair, open policies.
- throwaway5959 3y ago
  Interesting, thanks for that. I always liked the service (especially for DRM free titles from very small artists) but wasn’t sure how they could make money given how many artists were on the service.
  - solarkraft 3y ago
    > but wasn’t sure how they could make money given how many artists were on the service I don't see how everyone being the would be negative :) It might be the niches I like and it may be a bit self-selecting, but about 90% of artists (or more?) I really like are on there.

prepend 3y ago

How does a 31 person union afford the overhead of planning union stuff. Does it require members to volunteer time?

toomuchtodo 3y ago
You overestimate the effort and cost required in planning union stuff. It's relatively low effort. (I contribute to labor organizing efforts and building tech to help scale it)
- viraptor 3y ago
  Also, when things are not going great, people already have those meetings anyway. (If they care enough about staying at the company) When you care enough to organise an union, I suspect it overall just replaces time spent on grumbling about work during/after hours.
- pg_1234 3y ago
  Yeah, instead of going above and beyond for the company, just go above and beyond for your colleagues. Same workday, just properly compensated.
MilnerRoute 3y ago
In a tweet today Bandcamp United said they had an additional 16 ballots (beyond the 31 that were cast). Management had contested those 16 ballots, so they weren't included in the final tally. https://twitter.com/bandcampunited/status/1659658210767151130 https://twitter.com/bandcampunited/status/165965821076715113...
rakoo 3y ago
It doesn't have to be overhead, you're already not paid for the entirety of your work anyway. Take time off your work time.

annexrichmond 3y ago

> Today, a majority of eligible Bandcamp workers voted 31-7 in favor of forming Bandcamp United, What is considered an eligible Bandcamp worker? Quick glance at LinkedIn suggests there are 200+ employees

diebeforei485 3y ago

As layoffs spread I expect more of this to happen. At-will employment is barbaric (unless they're like a brand new employee who is clearly unable to perform the job or something). Union contracts should focus on unconditional notice periods prior to termination for all employees. If companies are smart, they will get ahead of it by voluntarily implementing this for all employees.

solarkraft 3y ago

This is nice. I'll buy on Bandcamp with an even better feeling from now on. I assume that the average Bandcamp customer will be at least slightly in favor of this - the whole company's concept is based on fairness.