Robert Reich: The sharing economy is hurtling us backwards

[Newsjock]

Source: Salon

... This is the logical culmination of a process that began thirty years ago when corporations began turning over full-time jobs to temporary workers, independent contractors, free-lancers, and consultants.

It was a way to shift risks and uncertainties onto the workers – work that might entail more hours than planned for, or was more stressful than expected.

And a way to circumvent labor laws that set minimal standards for wages, hours, and working conditions. And that enabled employees to join together to bargain for better pay and benefits. The new on-demand work shifts risks entirely onto workers, and eliminates minimal standards completely.

In effect, on-demand work is a reversion to the piece work of the nineteenth century – when workers had no power and no legal rights, took all the risks, and worked all hours for almost nothing.

Read more: http://www.salon.com/2015/02/04/robert_reich_the_sharing_economy_is_hurtling_us_backwards_partner/

[hfojvt]

1. I kinda like piece work

the factory that paid piece work was the one where I saw the least amount of slacking.

And at least there, if you saw somebody slacking you figured what the heck, it was coming out of their own pocket.

Although ironically, I was personally hurt by somebody who blew the curve. I worked on the drill presses and was decent at it. I could do 1,600 pieces in an eight hour day, but there was a 53 year old woman on 1st shift who was a total dynamo. She could do 2,500 in an eight hour day. Since management did NOT want to pay her the $12 an hour that she was worth (1994 dollars), the piece rate for the drill presses was set ridiculously high and I only ended up making base rate usually which was $5.40 an hour.

[ladjf]

2. It's a more profitable form of labor use than pure slavery.

The workers are paid barely enough to subsist and the company doesn't have to worry about actually housing, food, transportation or health.