In America, only 12.5% of the workforce now belongs to a union according to last week's Economist podcast.

I have always felt frustrated by the existence of unions because of my sense of loyalty to remaining independent. So I was surprised to hear about the Freelancers Union, a union of freelancers like myself. "Independent workers—freelancers, consultants, independent contractors, temps, part-timers, contingent employees and the self-employed—currently make up about 30% of the nation’s workforce." And they are grouping together to share informational resources, save on health insurance, and help one another. Is "union of independents" an oxymoron? Perhaps. But this is one union I would happily support.

A union of independents... the concept reminds me of an atheist alliance. I find it interesting that those who value their ability to think and act independently seem to be finding more and more support in groups. I'm currently reading The Wealth of Networks and it seems plausible that we can attribute these unions of independents to the increased autonomy afforded by technology. To quote the book: "The networked information economy improves the practical capacities of individuals along three dimensions: (1) it improves their capacity to do more for and by themselves (2) it enhances their capacity to do more in loose commonality with others, without being constrained to organize their relationship through a price system or in traditional hierarchical models of social and economic organization; and (3) it improves the capacity of individuals to do more in formal organizations that operate outside the market sphere." (p8)