It was reported recently that WWE is planning on assuming ownership of several Twitch accounts operated by talent on its roster. Paige, Dakota Kai, Mia Yim, and several others have successful accounts on the video game streaming platform.
Former US Presidential candidate Andrew Yang hopes to be in a cabinet position following the next election. He has publicly stated he plans to take action on WWE’s independent contractor policy when/if he is in a position to do.
According to Yang, he has heard from WWE Superstars that the company is asking them to sign new contracts that specifically mention Twitch.
WWE will reportedly be rolling out a new Twitch strategy, with streaming on the platform becoming part of a talent’s regular work schedule. Money earned from streaming on Twitch would count toward that talent’s downside guarantee.
Yang had the following to say regarding the Twitch deal recently when speaking to Wrestling Inc.
“A lot of it is that wrestlers are afraid to speak out, and I’ve had wrestlers past and present reach out to me and say that Vince has been getting away with exploitation of wrestlers calling them independent contractors while controlling their activities for years and years,” Yang said. “A lot of it is just that they are a quasi-monopoly, and wrestlers fear that if they do try and unionize or organize in any way that Vince doesn’t like, that it will never work again.”
