Why would they want to organise? Since they are, as you say, mostly small businessmen, who are competing with one another, what's the likelihood that they'd look favourably upon a union and even if it did form I don't think it'd be of much use to progressives?
I also suspect that industrial action over the internet would be less effective, as strikes would have their impact on the big companies lessened by non-unionised eBay-sellers et al and you can't picket a non-physical space.
I could see this kind of thing working with groups like World of Warcraft's Chinese gold-farmers, although I don't think you could organise a group like that over the internet, but with individuals who are essentially entrepreneurs unionising just seems not to fit.
Well, the primary motivation for organizing would be the benefits I listed - the ability to get fringe benefits cheaply, and the ability to have clout on workplace policies. The Freelancers Union has had good success organizing freelancers in New York, and many of those freelancers are in competition with each other, so there's reason to believe that could continue.
I agree that strikes might not be effective online, although I might be proven wrong. If eBay sellers chose not to sell any products during a key week right before Christmas, for example, that could feasibly have a significant impact on revenues. Some non-unionized sellers might fill the void, but it's not like any old yahoo can become a seller with a good reputation overnight; if a significant-enough share of the user base was unionized, the tactic could still be effective. But on the whole you're right; online workers would probably need to find another way to gain leverage with their workplace.
I'm a full-time freelancer involved in freelancers' online lists, and nearly all of us are sole proprietors. You're right in that there's no one to strike against because we work for ourselves (although we do pass along tips about slow payers and other abusive clients), but there is an immense collective need for "employee" benefits, especially health insurance, that is often expressed. Many can't afford exorbitant individual policy rates for themselves and/or their families; others can't buy it at any price because of pre-existing conditions; a few have relocated to states like Pennsylvania where buying individual health insurance is feasible if not cheap.
My hobby is selling used books online, and some months I make enough to pay the utility bills. There are hundreds of thousands of online fixed-price sellers not affiliated with eBay. I'd guess most are part-time, and most have the same problems eBay sellers have, just with different venues.
