The “gig economy” promised independence and opportunity for employees. Instead, it’s delivered increasingly precarious work while making it harder to exercise basic employment rights guaranteed to workers in traditional jobs. This Tyee series digs into the rapid growth of businesses like Uber and Skip the Dishes, and wonders whether they’ve made life better or worse for workers, where they could lead, and what can be done to reform the industry.
In This Series
Life in the Gig Economy: Good for Companies, Bad for Workers
New business models rely on stripping employees of their rights. First in a series.
Gig Life Is Lonely and Powerless
Uber and its followers promised autonomy and opportunity. Our findings show they delivered sadness and serfdom.
Gig Life: Slaves to the Algorithm
When the boss is an app, humans pay a price. Part of a series on the gig economy.
From ‘One Shit Job to Another Shit Job’
A new film offers a bleak but accurate look at the struggle to get by in the world of precarious work. Part of a series.
Who Sticks up for the Gig Worker?
Not Canada’s governments. But California shows the way on wages and workplace standards. Last in a series.