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Beating Uber at the UK Supreme Court w/ Yaseen Aslam Oct 19, 2021

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Yaseen Aslam to discuss the UK Supreme Court ruling that Uber drivers are not self-employed, the long fight to reach that point, and the next steps in the push for gig workers’ rights in the UK.
Yaseen Aslam is the president of the App Drivers and Couriers Union and a lead claimant in the Aslam v Uber case. Follow Yaseen on Twitter at @Yaseenaslam381 and the ADCU at @ADCUnion.
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Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:

In February, the UK Supreme Court upheld a previous ruling the Uber drivers were not self-employed, but were covered by a “worker” status. The following month, Uber reclassified workers, but didn’t observe the Court’s definition of what it meant to be a worker.
On September 28, Uber drivers in 8 UK cities went on strike, demanding better hourly rates and the full implementation of the Supreme Court ruling/
The ADCU sued Uber in the Netherlands over automated dismissal and not providing drivers their data under the GDPR. In April, the court made Uber reinstate 5 drivers.
In October, the ADCU announced it was suing Uber over its racially biased facial recognition algorithms.
Find out more about the ADCU.

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Solidarity in Canada’s Gig Economy w/ Jennifer Scott & Brice Sopher Oct 14, 2021

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Jennifer Scott and Brice Sopher to discuss the campaign to unionize Foodora and the fight for gig workers’ rights in Canada.
Jennifer Scott is a gig worker and president of Gig Workers United. Brice Sopher is also a gig worker and vice president of Gig Workers United. Follow Jennifer on Twitter at @PalimpsestJenn, Brice at @this_is_walmer, and Gig Workers United at @GigWorkersUnite.
🚨 T-shirts are now available!
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:

If you’re in Canada, sign the Gig Workers’ Bill of Rights.
Paris wrote about why Uber’s Flexible Work+ would be a disaster in Canada.
In February 2020, the Ontario Labour Board ruled that Foodora workers could unionize. The company soon after announced plans to leave Canada, but workers voted 88.8% in favor of unionization. In August, they negotiated a $3.46 million settlement with the company.
Sara Mojtehedzadeh (episode 79) made a podcast series about the Foodora campaign called Hustled.
Canada’s Conservative Party presented a gig work plan written by an Uber lobbyist.
Ontario has a committee looking at the future of work that gig workers fear will pave the way for Flexible Work+.
Find out more about Gig Workers United (CUPW) and Uber Drivers United (UFCW).

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Gig Work is Not a Novelty in Brazil w/ Rafael Grohmann Oct 12, 2021

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Rafael Grohmann to discuss the state of app-based work in Brazil, organizing by food delivery workers to demand better conditions, and even a recent strike by click farm workers.
Rafael Grohmann is a professor at UNISINOS, coordinator at DigiLabour Research Lab, and principal investigator in Brazil of Fairwork Project. Follow Rafael on Twitter at @grohmann_rafael.
🚨 T-shirts are now available!
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:

DigiLabour is organizing a PhD symposium on October 27-28. Find out more here.
Some of the people and work mentioned in this episode: Callum Cant, Fabian Ferrari and Mark Graham, Noopur Raval, Rosana Pinheiro Machado, Cheryll Soriano and Jason Cabañes, and Wendy Brown.
DigiLabour is looking into worker-owned platforms in Brazil.
Vice wrote about gig work organizing in Latin America and talked a lot about the Anti-fascist deliverers.
Rafael and his colleagues also looked at political struggle around gig work and the importance of communication.

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The Fight for Gig Workers’ Rights in Europe w/ Ben Wray Oct 07, 2021

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Ben Wray to discuss the state of the gig economy in Europe, including the Spanish riders law, recent court ruling on employment status in the Netherlands, strikes in Germany and Greece, and the forthcoming platform workers directive from the European Commission.
Ben Wray is a coordinator at the Gig Economy Project and a freelance journalist. Follow Ben on Twitter at @Ben_Wray1989.
🚨 T-shirts are now available!
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the Gig Economy Project’s newsletter for updates on what’s going on in Europe.
A Dutch court ruled that Uber drivers are employees.
Spain’s Riders Law came into effect, but the companies didn’t comply.
Glovo dark supermarkets workers in Barcelona went on strike in August.
E-food workers in Greece went on strike and won a huge victory.
Gorillas fired workers for wildcat strikes.
The European Commission will deliver platform work regulations in December. It’s been meeting a lot with gig companies.

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Migrant Workers in Australia’s Gig Economy w/ Tyler Riordan Oct 05, 2021

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Tyler Riordan to discuss the state of the gig economy in Australia, the ongoing efforts to improve their conditions, and Tyler’s research on migrant food couriers in Brisbane.
Tyler Riordan is a PhD candidate in hospitality and anthropology at the University of Queensland. Follow Tyler on Twitter at @tyler_riordan.
🚨 T-shirts are now available!
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:

The deaths of gig economy workers have become a major focus on governments and the media over the past year
Australia’s federal government has an ongoing Senate committee on gig work
Uber settled a case in December 2020 to avoid a ruling on employment status, but another test case has been filed in Federal Court
Foodora pulled out of Australia in 2018
Menulog announced it was making some workers employees earlier this year

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How Race Was Central to Prop 22 w/ Veena Dubal Sep 30, 2021

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Veena Dubal to discuss how Proposition 22 and the contract status of gig workers is reminiscent of the United States’ history of racial wage codes, which codified lower wages for Black workers.
Veena Dubal is a Professor of Law at UC Hastings. Follow Veena on Twitter at @veenadubal. Go back to episode 10 (May 21, 2020) for Veena’s first appearance on the podcast.
🚨 T-shirts are now available!
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:

If you’ve ever assigned an episode of the podcast in a college or university course, let me know by Twitter DM, email, or through this form.
Read Veena’s essay on The New Racial Wage Code.
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois had opposing philosophies for Black social and economic progress.
Robert C. Weaver and David Roediger wrote about differential wages.
Uber put up a billboard saying, “If you tolerate racism, delete Uber.” Drivers were not happy.
Uber and Lyft held up workers’ unemployment claims, and Lyft charged for PPE.
After Prop 22, gig companies raised fees despite promising not to, and workers reported earning even less money.
In August, Prop 22 was found to be unconstitutional.
New York City recently passed new protections for delivery couriers after organizing by Los Deliveristas Unidos.
Find out more about Rideshare Drivers United.

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The Amazon Union Drive Comes to Canada w/ Sara Mojtehedzadeh Sep 23, 2021

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Sara Mojtehedzadeh to discuss the Teamsters’ organizing at Amazon warehouses in Canada and the working conditions that workers face at those facilities.
Sara Mojtehedzadeh is a labour reporter at the Toronto Star and the host of Hustled, a podcast about Foodora workers’ fight for a union. Follow Sara on Twitter at @SaraMojtehedz.
🚨 T-shirts are now available!
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:

If you’ve ever assigned an episode of the podcast in a college or university course, let me know by Twitter DM, email, or through this form.
In June, the Teamsters voted to put resources behind unionizing Amazon.
The Teamsters Canada applied for a union vote in Edmonton, Alberta, and said it’s organizing at nine warehouses. Amazon is hiring 15,000 workers and raising wages.
During the pandemic, the Canadian government signed a deal with Amazon to deliver PPE. The contract fell apart.
After an Amazon worker died in Indiana, the governor intervened to overturn the citations.
California is regulating productivity quotas at warehouses.
Discussions are picking up about sectoral bargaining in Canada.
Sara wrote about the high injury rates at Amazon’s Canadian warehouses and the temporary closure of its Brampton, Ontario warehouse after a Covid outbreak.
Find out more about Teamsters Canada’s Amazon campaign and the Warehouse Workers Centre.

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What Apple Won’t Tell You About the iPhone w/ Brian Merchant Sep 16, 2021

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss the development of the iPhone, how Apple manages the press, and how the parts of the company’s supply chain that get too little attention.
Brian Merchant is the author of The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone and Blood in the Machine, coming in 2022. Follow Brian on Twitter at @bcmerchant.
🚨 T-shirts are now available!
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:

In 1968, Douglas Engelbart showed off the “Mother of All Demos.”
David Nye wrote the American Technological Sublime.
Paris thinks Apple’s Steve Jobs Theater has big church vibes.
Disgraced former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes tried to emulate Steve Jobs.
IBM built the Simon smartphone in the 1990s, but it was ahead of its time.
In 2011, Apple made $473,000 per retail employee — far more than other retailers. Its revenue per square foot was almost double Tiffany’s. That year, Cory Moll also led a push for an Apple Retail Workers Union, but Apple fought back and he left the company in 2013.
In 2010, after facing criticism, Steve Jobs said the suicide rate at Foxconn factories was “well below the China average.”
In December 2020, workers at a Wistron iPhone factory in India ransacked the factory because they weren’t getting paid.
Jenny Chan, Mark Selden, and Ngai Pun wrote Dying for an iPhone: Apple, Foxconn, and The Lives of China’s Workers (US/UK).
Apple files annual conflict minerals reports. You can read their 2021 report here.

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The Creation of a Black Cyberculture w/ André Brock Sep 09, 2021

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by André Brock to discuss the history of Black people’s online activity, the internet’s association with whiteness, and what Black Twitter can tell us about the centrality of Black people to digital culture.
André Brock is an associate professor of media studies at Georgia Tech. He writes on Western technoculture, Black technoculture, and digital media. His award-winning book, Distributed Blackness: African American Cybercultures, theorizes Black everyday lives mediated by networked digital technologies. You can get if from NYU Press, and it’s available through open access. Follow André on Twitter at @DocDre.
🚨 T-shirts are now available!
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:

Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald did portraits of the Obamas, while Kara Walker made “A Subtlety” at the Domino Sugar Refinery.
Achille Mbembe is a Cameroonian philosopher and social theorist.
Janelle Monáe, Sun Ra, and John Jennings are notable people engaging with Afrofuturism.
Books mentioned: Black Software: The Internet & Racial Justice, from the AfroNet to Black Lives Matter by Charlton D. McIlwain and Tools for Conviviality by Ivan Illich.

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Big Tech Entrenches US Power w/ Michael Kwet Sep 02, 2021

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Michael Kwet to discuss how digital technologies are used to entrench the power of the United States and its dominant corporations at the expense of the Global South.
Michael Kwet is a Visiting Fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. He got his PhD in Sociology at Rhodes University in South Africa. Follow Michael on Twitter at @Michael_Kwet.
🚨 T-shirts are now available!
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:

Michael wrote about digital colonialism and the need for a Digital Tech Deal.
Bill Gates wrote a notorious letter in 1976 opposing the sharing of software as it conflicted with Microsoft's business model.
Tech companies export content moderation, training AI, call center, and even more labor to the Global South.
Gabriel Winant criticized the dominant liberal perspective on antitrust action.

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