Jon Weinberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
A day after a California administrative judge recommended that that Uber be fined $7.3 million and be suspended in the state, widespread coverage of the politicization of the gig economy continues. The New York Times reports that Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush personally hailed and took an Uber in San Francisco this morning to visit the headquarters of technology company Thumbtack. Bush’s choice of Uber was symbolic and indicated his support for gig economy firms. In fact, according to Business Insider, Bush’s campaign spent about $1,400 on 70 Uber rides during the last two weeks of June.
Meanwhile, major publications highlighted the emerging positions of presidential candidates on the gig economy. The New York Times noted that Uber has become “an unexpected proxy in the emerging debate between the left and right over the future of work, the responsibilities of employers, the virtues of technology and the necessity of workplace regulation.” The Times story also highlighted that Republican candidates see support for Uber as a way to promote the free market and win votes in cities with large Democratic bases, while Democratic candidates take issue with the classification of drivers but are reluctant to criticize the company by name to avoid alienating those voters.
Time also covered the politics of the gig economy, and concluded that Republican and Democratic positions aren’t as clear cut as they seem. The Time story points out that Uber and other gig economy firms are primarily based in largely-Democratic California and predicate their business models on independent contractors being able to take advantage of a large social safety net. Time also focuses on the efforts of Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) to explore Congressional action to account for the situation faced by workers in the gig economy.
OnLabor will continue to monitor coverage surrounding the election and gig economy workers.
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July 11
Regional director orders election without Board quorum; 9th Circuit pauses injunction on Executive Order; Driverless car legislation in Massachusetts
July 10
Wisconsin Supreme Court holds UW Health nurses are not covered by Wisconsin’s Labor Peace Act; a district judge denies the request to stay an injunction pending appeal; the NFLPA appeals an arbitration decision.
July 9
the Supreme Court allows Trump to proceed with mass firings; Secretary of Agriculture suggests Medicaid recipients replace deported migrant farmworkers; DHS ends TPS for Nicaragua and Honduras
July 8
In today’s news and commentary, Apple wins at the Fifth Circuit against the NLRB, Florida enacts a noncompete-friendly law, and complications with the No Tax on Tips in the Big Beautiful Bill. Apple won an appeal overturning a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that the company violated labor law by coercively questioning an employee […]
July 7
LA economy deals with fallout from ICE raids; a new appeal challenges the NCAA antitrust settlement; and the EPA places dissenting employees on leave.
July 6
Municipal workers in Philadelphia continue to strike; Zohran Mamdani collects union endorsements; UFCW grocery workers in California and Colorado reach tentative agreements.