A new McKinsey study suggest the gig economy may not be revolutionizing the world of work. Quartz reports that McKinsey estimates the gig economy workforce “at 20% to 30% of the working-age population in the US and the EU-15, or some 160 million people,” noting that the gig economy is perhaps “reverting economies to pre-industrial ideas about work.” The study goes on to connect self-employment to industrialization.
Meanwhile, a new study from the Center for American Progress calls for labor law reforms to strengthen unions, in order to improve our economy. According to Time, the study find that ” a stronger labor movement may be the quickest way to spur the sort of broad-based growth (via wage hikes) that we need to create a more sustainable, robust recovery.” CAP calls for reform to allow for industry-level bargaining, as opposed to firm-by-firm bargaining.
The strike by Harvard dining workers continues, and major media outlets are taking note. The Nation highlights student and faculty solidarity with the striking workers, while The Daily Beast critiques Harvard’s solicitation of replacement workers.
In other news, the Associated Press reports that “a Dutch labor union said Monday it will launch legal action against FIFA if soccer’s governing body does not step in to halt what it called ‘modern slavery’ in the construction of venues for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar,” while SCOTUSblog features petitions to the Supreme Court seeking a determination of whether mandatory arbitration agreements with class action waivers in employment contracts violate the National Labor Relations Act.
