The “shoppers” who complete Instacart grocery delivery orders went on strike this week, alleging significant problems with the app’s structure that are familiar throughout the gig economy. As independent contractors, the shoppers are subject to unpredictable p... More »
In the aftermath of the Chicago teachers’ strike, which ended on October 31, students and teachers are struggling to catch up on missing work. Some high school seniors who were unable to take the SAT during the strike have now missed early admission dead... More »
More than 1,200 students at 17 universities have signed a pledge not to take jobs with Palantir, a big data analytics company, until it drops its software development contracts with ICE. Under the name #NoTechForICE, the campaign is modeled on similar efforts ... More »
The New York Times reported that workers at a Boeing manufacturing plant in South Carolina have complained of defective manufacturing and retaliation for reporting violations—in the wake of systemic safety concerns about two of Boeing’s flagship planes, ... More »
The grocery-delivery service Instacart caved to public outrage over its tipping policy and will now pass along the full value of a customer’s tip to the delivery worker. Beginning in November, Instacart had in some cases reduced the rate the company paid... More »
As the government shutdown lumbers into its 28th day, federal workers are beginning to file for unemployment en masse, reports the New York Times. About 380,000 furloughed federal employees are eligible for unemployment, and the longest government shutdown on ... More »
“Gig economy” or “online platform” companies that provide personal labor services—Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit, Handy, Instacart, Grubhub, and others—challenge American law’s system for classifying workers as “employees” or “independent contractors, As I explain in... More »
September 22nd, 2019