Gig Economy

Gig Economy
Instacart Plans Three-Day Strike Over Pay
November 04, 2019

Gig workers are disrupting Instacart’s delivery business Nov.3-5 to demand an increase in default tips and overall pay, Fast Company reported on Sunday (Nov. 3).  Open letters to Instacart CEO and founder Apoorva Mehta were signed by 212 workers who want the company to overhaul...

Gig Economy
Uber, Lyft Back Ballot Measure To Fight California Gig Worker Law
October 30, 2019

Uber, Lyft and DoorDash are backing a ballot initiative to exempt themselves from California’s landmark law that re-classifies gig economy workers as employees, the companies announced in a press release on Tuesday (Oct. 29). The ballot measure — Protect App-Based Drivers & Services Act —...

Gig Economy
EU’s Vestager: Gig Workforce Should Be Able To Unionize For Better Pay
October 24, 2019

European Union antitrust chief and Silicon Valley critic Margrethe Vestager said gig economy workers should join forces for better pay, the Financial Times reported on Thursday (Oct. 24).  She further pledged that EU rules can’t prevent gig economy workers from forming unions. “Platform workers should be...

Gig Economy
Even Bad Tippers Might Pay More With Better Tech
October 22, 2019

The rise of digital payments and the gig economy cannot guarantee that consumers will tip. But new technology is sure making tipping easier — both for consumer and workers — even if human nature is, well, human nature. Here’s the dim news: A new study from the National...

Gig Economy
How TaskRabbit, With IKEA, Is Reshaping The Gig Economy
October 18, 2019

One of the basics of platform design and ignition is getting “anchor tenants” on board who — given their size, scale and profile — tend to attract other stakeholders to the platform. What’s not as common is for an anchor tenant to acquire a platform...

Gig Economy
What’s Wrong With The Attack On Gig Economy Pay
October 14, 2019

Drivers can’t make ends meet. Given the median income of roughly $25,000 a year and the number of hours required behind the wheel to earn that, drivers’ wages fall well below the federal hourly minimum wage. As independent contractors, drivers also have no benefits. After...

Gig Economy
Instacart Gig Workers Plan Protest Over Wages, Fees
October 11, 2019

From Nov. 3 to Nov. 5, Instacart shoppers are planning to protest the delivery company, according to reports. The protesters have three demands: The want Instacart to change the default tip amount from 5 percent to 10 percent, they want the company to get rid...

Gig Economy
How The MENA Gig Economy Provides Global Lessons
October 09, 2019

The gig economy — and digital marketplaces designed to service gig workers and employers — is where so much of the action is these days. Payments and other forms of innovation and disruption are taking place as the gig lifestyle spreads across the world and...

Gig Economy
CA Gig Workers Split On Impact Of New Classification Law
September 23, 2019

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a controversial bill that could reclassify ridesharing and other gig economy workers as employees instead of independent contractors, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday (Sept. 21). Although the new law is intended to raise wages and add...