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OK this will be a long ass thread of academic & journalistic work done this year on the gig economy, its labor & antitrust dimensions, and its financial elements. This list is not exhaustive. I avoided paywalled stuff & focused on overlooked/interesting things to consider in 2021
From @psskow and @piravilela a great story about the significance of a July 1 strike across Latin America, itself preceded by multiple strikes & years of deteriorating working conditions. We pay too little attention to the so-called gig economy overseas. https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgxazk/they-arent-anything-without-us-gig-workers-are-striking-throughout-latin-america
Gig companies scrambled early in the pandemic to obscure the fact they were forcing workers to either risk starvation or infection. @darakerr spent months reporting on how sick paid leave policies were inadequate and often just bait-and-switch schemes https://www.cnet.com/features/gig-workers-with-covid-19-symptoms-say-its-hard-to-get-sick-leave-from-uber-lyft-instacart/
When I went to Kenya two years ago, it was already clear from family that drove taxis or drove privately that Uber had wormed its way into the country. I did not realize how deep the parasite had dug itself until @hysperbole's investigation https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/uber-made-big-promises-kenya-drivers-say-it-s-ruined-n1247964
Great story from @dmehro that horrifies me so much. I wish I did more stories with workers on platforms like MTurk & am going to make an effort next year. Our digital economy hums along crushing hordes of people and we shouldn’t be able to look away. https://gizmodo.com/horror-stories-from-inside-amazons-mechanical-turk-1840878041
Clear & comprehensive overview from @SamWHarnett of how non-labor tech coverage was largely manufacturing consent and drowning out concurrent critical coverage from labor reporters & academics for years. We are still suffering for this original sin today. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3668606
I think some of the best gig economy work is coming from academics (like @nielsvdoorn @AdamBadger1), who are trying to make sense of how gig platforms actually operate within capitalism and what developments we can anticipate. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/anti.12641
It’s hard to read this or “Brief History of the Gig” (both from @veenadubal) and debate gig platforms aren’t simply operating illegally. The longer we hold water for people lying digital “gig work” is different, the more we harm exploited workers. https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/digital-piecework
A great two part series from @SareetaAmrute @mawnikr @brian_callaci on how automation discourse is getting in the way of understanding how firms are taking advantage of economic downturns to permanently restructure and informalize work. https://points.datasociety.net/why-are-good-jobs-disappearing-if-robots-arent-taking-them-9f8d4845302a
This from @JMBooyah paints how Instacart’s algorithmic overseers have put the fear of god into shoppers. There is always the threat that one small mistake (or unfair rating) can mean their earnings (or job) suddenly vanish, before and during the pandemic. https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-12-21/instacart-shoppers-ratings-returns-missing-orders
Easy to get lost in the many ways Uber illegally operates or regularly bypasses regulations, but this story from @suhaunah makes it very clear by centering on how Uber's decisions led to a driver dying of COVID-19 and threatened a family’s livelihood. https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-01/prop-22-uber-driver-covid-19-death-benefits-workers-comp
This from @nitashatiku is not on "gig work" but on ICs at huge tech companies facing exploitative working conditions similar to those of gig workers. A great early look centering ICs and their concerns, when tech companies seemed ready to sacrifice them. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/03/09/tech-contractors-coronavirus/?itid=ap_nitashatiku
Venture capitalists are major funders of the gig economy and its attempts to revive piece work. @EricLevitz’s essay on the consequences of VCs planning technological (and political) development is essential reading going into the new year. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/12/wework-venture-capital-central-planning.html
The entirety of @logic_magazine's 11th issue on Care is essential for thinking about the gig economy, especially as it restructures work everywhere else. Care work is the fastest growing and developments here are incredibly important to pay attention to. https://logicmag.io/care/
The antitrust moment must look at gig economy platforms, something @Econ_Marshal has been doing for years. This statement from him is a great introduction to/primer on the legal contours of this battle, where more research is needed, and paths forward. https://marshallsteinbaum.org/assets/steinbaum-2020-antitrust-and-the-business-model-of-gig-economy-labor-platforms-house-antitrust-subcommittee-investigation-on-digital-platforms-.pdf
Another antitrust angle to consider with Uber: economic coordination rights. @sanjuktampaul has written extensively about how laws decide what types of ECRs are granted and to whom—leading to contradictory antitrust & labor outcomes in the gig economy https://www.uclalawreview.org/antitrust-as-allocator-of-coordination-rights-2/
The best accounts of ride-hail driver organizing are still from academics like @KatieJWells who studied D.C Uber drivers to understand a "just-in-place" labor management strategy that undermined worker agency & created new outlets for it. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0308518X20949266
Introduced to me by @asiaarttours, @chuangcn has some of the most fascinating analyses of Chinese labor struggles. Coverage of gig work overseas is orders of magnitude across the board but especially in China. Please read this deep deep dive. http://chuangcn.org/2020/11/delivery-renwu-translation/
Easy to see parallels in this @TowardsFairWork report on how platforms in South Africa exploited then abandoned gig workers during the pandemic. Outlines key platform problems & solutions, as well as government actions & legal solutions. https://fair.work/wp-content/uploads/sites/97/2020/05/Covid19-SA-Report-Final.pdf
So much more that I did not add because of paywalls, different focus, or failing to see it, && everyone on this list also wrote and researched so much more this year that you must read. But I think these pieces raise points and tell stories important to think abt next year
The antitrust dimensions of gig platforms, the return to piece work, the regulatory arbitrage, the various plot to negotiate away labor rights, the sheer misery and soul-crushing work that makes these platforms perform, all of this will be even more important next year
also if you came across something interesting, don't hesitate to share and pass it along! as much as i want to i do not read or see everything but i would like to and know i miss a lot for all sorts of reasons
