Trade unions are harnessing the same force that caused their decline
“If they stall, we will hit them where it hurts.” Jörg Sprave is a jovial German with a winning smile but he leaves no doubt that he is serious. If Google, YouTube’s owner, does not budge, he will call a strike. Mr Sprave runs “The Slingshot Channel”, dedicated to rubber-powered weapons, which boasts over 2m subscribers. He is also the founder of the YouTubers Union, which counts over 16,000 members. He launched the organisation in March after YouTube stopped showing adverts alongside many of his and others’ clips, following pressure from advertisers. It caused his income to drop from $6,500 to $1,500 a month. The group’s main demand is to stop such “demonetisation”.
