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Can we get an open source gig economy app where 75% of the profits go to gig workers? Then 7.5% would go towards employee rights and benefits of gig workers, 7.

Can we get an open source gig economy app where 75% of the profits go to gig workers? Then 7.5% would go towards employee rights and benefits of gig workers, 7.5% towards contributors improving the software, and 10% towards customer support and legal third parties.

timkam 5y ago
IMHO, such apps should be considered infrastructure and be regulated accordingly (or be managed by foundations).
300bps 5y ago
Can we get an open source gig economy app Sure, start writing it now. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
akvadrako 5y ago
It's called a platform co-op and many exist, but it's hard to compete with VC money. Uber is losing money so I don't know think drivers want a slice of the profits.
- jlokier 5y ago
  What, if anything, is preventing for-profit platform co-ops from obtaining VC money and chasing a similar growth-to-unicorn curve? Is it just cultural inertia, i.e. nobody has tried yet?
  - PeterisP 5y ago
    If the purpose of the co-op is to ensure that profits go to the workers and not to company owners/investors, then either you plan to fail at that purpose or you're not interesting to the investors. If the lion's share of the operating profits would go to the investors, it's no better than Uber, if the lion's share of the operating profits would go to the drivers, then what's the motivation to invest?
  - noogle 5y ago
    Based on my limited experience, VCs could be dissuaded from investing in co-ops by: 1. No prospects of a big payout (IPO, acquisition). 2. VCs like to have a single point-of-contact (the CEO) and few other owners. In a start-up, the CEO is answerable and serves only the investors. Co-ops behave more like a member-driven organization whose obligation is first and foremost to its members. 3. No option for majority ownership. A co-op eventually has to be majorly owned by the employees rather than by investors.
- mofosyne 5y ago
  Is there any known platform cooperatives to support that has some traction so far?
lr4444lr 5y ago
Huh? Nothing stops gig workers as it is from organizing and just paying an app developer. The unions simply can't make inroads with them for whatever reasons.
- ethanbond 5y ago
  One reason being union-busting behaviors from the threatened firms, obviously.
  - lr4444lr 5y ago
    The workers are independent contractors. Uber drivers and TaskRabbit workers and the like are not on employee time or property. So what behaviors are you talking about? Uber certainly doesn't have to sell the Teamsters ad space on their app of they don't want to. It's their app.
- amelius 5y ago
  The problem is investors building huge piles of money to corner a market. You can't easily beat that kind of betting power.
k__ 5y ago
Isn't that what Gitcoin does?
LNSY 5y ago
https://drivers.coop/ https://drivers.coop/ If you are in New York City you can use drivers.coop.

timkam 5y ago

IMHO, such apps should be considered infrastructure and be regulated accordingly (or be managed by foundations).

300bps 5y ago

Can we get an open source gig economy app Sure, start writing it now. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

akvadrako 5y ago

It's called a platform co-op and many exist, but it's hard to compete with VC money. Uber is losing money so I don't know think drivers want a slice of the profits.

jlokier 5y ago
What, if anything, is preventing for-profit platform co-ops from obtaining VC money and chasing a similar growth-to-unicorn curve? Is it just cultural inertia, i.e. nobody has tried yet?
- PeterisP 5y ago
  If the purpose of the co-op is to ensure that profits go to the workers and not to company owners/investors, then either you plan to fail at that purpose or you're not interesting to the investors. If the lion's share of the operating profits would go to the investors, it's no better than Uber, if the lion's share of the operating profits would go to the drivers, then what's the motivation to invest?
- noogle 5y ago
  Based on my limited experience, VCs could be dissuaded from investing in co-ops by: 1. No prospects of a big payout (IPO, acquisition). 2. VCs like to have a single point-of-contact (the CEO) and few other owners. In a start-up, the CEO is answerable and serves only the investors. Co-ops behave more like a member-driven organization whose obligation is first and foremost to its members. 3. No option for majority ownership. A co-op eventually has to be majorly owned by the employees rather than by investors.
mofosyne 5y ago
Is there any known platform cooperatives to support that has some traction so far?

lr4444lr 5y ago

Huh? Nothing stops gig workers as it is from organizing and just paying an app developer. The unions simply can't make inroads with them for whatever reasons.

ethanbond 5y ago
One reason being union-busting behaviors from the threatened firms, obviously.
- lr4444lr 5y ago
  The workers are independent contractors. Uber drivers and TaskRabbit workers and the like are not on employee time or property. So what behaviors are you talking about? Uber certainly doesn't have to sell the Teamsters ad space on their app of they don't want to. It's their app.
amelius 5y ago
The problem is investors building huge piles of money to corner a market. You can't easily beat that kind of betting power.

k__ 5y ago

Isn't that what Gitcoin does?

LNSY 5y ago

https://drivers.coop/ https://drivers.coop/ If you are in New York City you can use drivers.coop.