Portside

If Uber and Lyft resort to the stalling tactics corporations commonly use to block higher pay and better working conditions, gig workers will still have a fight on their hands.

Uber and Lyft are not opposing Question 3, which would give some bargaining rights to drivers but keep them as independent contractors without full labor protection.

A once-in-a-generation convergence of technology and pressure to operate more efficiently has corporations saying many lost jobs may never return.

Last year, the union membership rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 10.1% — the lowest on record. The absolute number of American workers in unions did grow in 2022 — by approximately 200,000. But the number of non-union jobs grew faster.

For the first time, they could qualify as employees and enjoy benefits and rights that have been off-limits for years.

Legislation under consideration in New York Massachusetts and other states look like they might offer gig workers some benefits in terms of limited bargaining rights, but they would come at a high cost.

In the midst of a pandemic, drivers will be denied sick days, and local laws passed in L.A., San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose to protect drivers during COVID-19 will be retroactively undone.

Tech workers across pay scales, job types, geographies, and companies have joined together in unprecedented shows of solidarity.