Proposition 22 keeps workers for app-based companies like Uber and Lyft classified as independent contractors, but it also reveals deeper problems with contemporary labour markets.
Proposition 22 reverses a 2019 state law.
AP Photo/Richard Vogel
Workers say they love the freedom of platforms like Uber and TaskRabbit but find it hard to earn a livable wage. Cooperatives that give worker-owners a voice in how they are run offer a solution.
With the recession exposing more workers to the vagaries of gig work, it's more urgent than ever to close the legal loopholes that deny workers employment rights.
Samuel Diaz, a delivery worker for Amazon Prime, loads his vehicle with groceries from Whole Foods in Miami.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Leigh Osofsky, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Delivery workers and others who ensure most people don't have to go outside for essential goods are creating what economic theorists call an uncompensated 'positive externality.'
A delivery rider in Sydney’s deserted Chinatown precinct, March 24 2020.
Steven Saphore/AAP
A scholar of the American safety net explains how, through her own brother, she's getting a personal window into what it means to face COVID-19 as a worker in the gig economy.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Walmart CEO Doug McMillon at a White House press conference joining government and corporate officials – but no representatives of workers.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
If government and business collaborate with workers, a scholar of labor relations writes, current economic problems could get less severe, the recovery smoother and lasting prosperity more likely.
Uber’s loss of its licence to operate in London signals uberisation is not an unstoppable force. Job insecurity, though, is on the march.
Will Oliver/EPA
A growing number of jobs are becoming less stable, with fewer benefits and stagnating wages. This is taking a significant toll on the psychological health of workers.
The delivery riders consider that the correction of possible errors is part of their missions, even if they are not remunerated for these additional tasks.
Massimo Parisi / Shutterstock
Many vulnerable workers aren't covered for work-related injuries and illness. Employment law is largely a federal matter while compensation schemes are state-run, but there's a way to fix the problem.
The 80% of musicians who freelance or are self-employed need to have an array of transferable skills to make a living.
pxhere
It isn't easy, but musicians build 'portfolio careers' by being adaptable, multiskilled and willing to learn, so they can pursue creative work that they believe in.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that food-delivery platform Foodora underpaid three workers.
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That the Fair Work Ombudsman brought a case against Foodora suggests its workers are most likely to be classified as employees. This could dissuade other platforms from offering similar benefits.