LETTER: "UBER AND THE PHONEY PROMISES OF FREEDOM"
CAN BAŞKENT
I’ve read Sarah O’Connor’s piece on the gig economy with interest (Opinion, November 10, 2020). I agree with her that the “traditional” American blue-collar jobs market is known to be insecure with next-to-no pension, paid leave, maternity leave or healthcare. This is not sustainable.
However, the gig economy is not only a symptom of it. It is not that simple. What made the gig economy popular was its phoney promises of freedom — the promise of “full control over work hours” for example. But this is not a freedom, it is just a code word for worker abuse, lack of worker rights and insecurities.
As such, the gig economy is also a cause of major job insecurity. It created a new class of workers — “the precariat” — together with a vicious cycle of new problems. More insecurities caused more demand for the gig economy, which in turn creates even more people with job insecurities.
In each case, it is Uber and the like that earn more — last week’s plebiscite is only about how much more or less Uber and those like it will earn.
In each case, they are the winners — not the lower-paid workers.