SantaClaraHawk
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2015
- Messages
- 15,007
- Reaction score
- 3,092
https://www.ninersnation.com/2019/12/18 ... tion-again
And I thought the 49ers losing Sunday would be the worst news of the week.
For those of you who are not up to speed, I’m going to direct you to this post here.
Now let’s talk about it: it’s true. Me, along with the rest of the staff, got our eviction notices. We were given options, but it all leads to one thing: we’re done in March thanks to a new California labor law. Not just us, this is all California team sites across SB Nation. You guys will have Kyle and an announcement later on who else is going to come in.
----
What happened is that California decided that anyone paid to post more than 35 times/year would have to be considered an employee versus a freelancer. Most people writing on SN blogs (i.e. Field Gulls) are paid less than $200/month.
From Cali's perspective, this is "worker's rights." From SB Nation's perspective, it's way cheaper to consolidate the work to 20 employees as opposed to paying these people more and possibly having issues with benefits, hr, workers comp and the rest. From the freelancers' perspective, it's 200 people getting fired and told to compete for 20 jobs.
From the fan perspective, those freelancers were never there at under $10/illustrated posts with gifs to support their family. Clearly, most had some other way of doing so. Most were in it because it was a technically paying job that allowed them to write about the team they were fans of.
A lot of these writers, like the OP, were worth following and were the only option for those who don't have extra to blow on paperless subscriptions to papers now demanding $100/year and/or whatever the Athletic charges. The OP himself is in Seattle (so you know he's not supporting himself solely with this), but no matter, he works for a California blog and has got his termination papers.
A lot of people happily wrote for ego. People were happy to read them. But now, neither one can.
And I thought the 49ers losing Sunday would be the worst news of the week.
For those of you who are not up to speed, I’m going to direct you to this post here.
Now let’s talk about it: it’s true. Me, along with the rest of the staff, got our eviction notices. We were given options, but it all leads to one thing: we’re done in March thanks to a new California labor law. Not just us, this is all California team sites across SB Nation. You guys will have Kyle and an announcement later on who else is going to come in.
----
What happened is that California decided that anyone paid to post more than 35 times/year would have to be considered an employee versus a freelancer. Most people writing on SN blogs (i.e. Field Gulls) are paid less than $200/month.
From Cali's perspective, this is "worker's rights." From SB Nation's perspective, it's way cheaper to consolidate the work to 20 employees as opposed to paying these people more and possibly having issues with benefits, hr, workers comp and the rest. From the freelancers' perspective, it's 200 people getting fired and told to compete for 20 jobs.
From the fan perspective, those freelancers were never there at under $10/illustrated posts with gifs to support their family. Clearly, most had some other way of doing so. Most were in it because it was a technically paying job that allowed them to write about the team they were fans of.
A lot of these writers, like the OP, were worth following and were the only option for those who don't have extra to blow on paperless subscriptions to papers now demanding $100/year and/or whatever the Athletic charges. The OP himself is in Seattle (so you know he's not supporting himself solely with this), but no matter, he works for a California blog and has got his termination papers.
A lot of people happily wrote for ego. People were happy to read them. But now, neither one can.