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Agreed. This quote also really stood out to me: > “We are controlled. We are treated like employees but without the perks,” Jennifer Cotten, a Los Angeles area
by asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
Agreed. This quote also really stood out to me:
> “We are controlled. We are treated like employees but without the perks,” Jennifer Cotten, a Los Angeles area–based shopper, told me.
Ain't a whole lot of perks being a part-time, entry-level employee at McDonalds. Being an employee is no guarantee of financial safety or stability. I think at least some of these gig workers are very confused about what's going to happen if their "employers" are forced to classify them as employees. Namely, I think everyone believes that they'll be kept on, and that doesn't seem especially likely to me.
- virtuous_signal 7y agoJust to make it clear that I'm not trying to kick anyone who's down: all of these jobs sound terrible. And when all your choices for work are terrible then the word "choice" is too generous. I wouldn't wish the stress or instability of unskilled labor on anyone I know. But I think people's frustration with inequality and how the economy isn't working for most people, is just finding the easiest target, which right now happens to be the gig economy. McDonald's provides cheap food for everyone. Uber means no one will go back to phoning a taxi/waiting 45 minutes for one due to the artificial scarcity of medallions. They are here to stay. Things (unemployment as you mention) would be even worse without them.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 7y agoFor sure. We need a safety net for these folks. But destroying the value created by these companies is not an efficient or even sufficient mechanism for realizing that future.