I have noticed that most, if not all, of the progressive sites I read use book links through Amazon's affiliate program. Now, last I heard, Amazon is not a union store, and is still a net Republican donor.
So what I wonder is, why Amazon?
I trust the people who run these sites, so I assume that there are reasons. Are other booksellers not good at actually paying up? Does Amazon's program have that much of a better rate? Just looking at their site vs Powell's, for example, it doesn't seem like it is, but it's also somewhat complex so I doubt a quick skim tells the whole story.
I ask because if we can identify what makes Amazon the better choice now, maybe we can work with a union-friendly online bookseller like Powell's, or some other source like Booksense, to improve their own affiliate program so we can Buy Blue AND keep our favorite sites rolling in the moolah.
Or, maybe the information about Amazon is out of date? The union-busting stories are all from 2001 and I can't find anything more recent. Their political donations seem to be trending more towards an equal-bribery policy, as well, which while not the best is not the worst either.
Anybody who has experience with this, it would be great to hear from you.