Book Read Free

Hustle and Gig

Page 31

by Alexandrea J Ravenelle


  Zukin, Sharon. 2009. Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places. New York: Oxford University Press.

  Zumbrun, Josh. 2016. “Voter Discord Isn’t over Wages.” Wall Street Journal, August 7.

  Index

  Abundant Host, 46

  acceptance rates, 1–2

  access, 28fig. 2

  accidental occupational liability policies, 110–11

  Adshade, Marina, 127

  advertisements: Airbnb, 44fig. 5; by Kitchensurfing, 57, 59; TaskRabbit, 100fig. 12; by Uber, 50, 51fig. 7

  African-Americans: as Airbnb hosts, 35, 39; digital divide and, 193; discrimination against, 169, 193; economic issues of, 140; as Uber users, 35; wealth gap and, 195

  age issues: age of chefs, 59; age of drivers, 53; age of hosts, 49; age of sharing economy workers, 62; age of TaskRabbits, 56; child labor, 65, 70, 224n12, 225n15; Schor on, 224n1; in textile industry, 67, 225n15

  Airbnb: overview, 7, 21, 22; African-American hosts, 35–36, 39; background on, 43–49; bathroom use, 88; business use of, 182, 228n14; children and hosting, 12–13; choices, 168; commercial user crackdown, 20; communication issues, 63; Couchsurfing and, 9; cultural capital and, 165, 166–67; discrimination and, 170; as durable-assets-sharing sites, 27; economic impact of, 39; employee monitoring, 204; entrepreneurship and, 6, 164–66; flexibility, 168; high capital-barrier, 43, 43tab. 1, 166–68; for homeless people, 4; illegal rentals, 40, 41, 149–52; income potential, 19; Instant Book service, 170; interaction-free key transfers, 34; low pricing strategy, 231n8 (ch.7); marketing, 160; multilocation hosts, 40; participant recruitment and methodology, 42–43; Peers and, 72; promises of, 25; response rates, 81–82, 160; safety issues, 113–14; as sharing economy company, 26, 27–29; social interactions and, 33; striving workers and, 132; struggling workers and, 132; successful workers and, 19–21, 39–40, 131–32; trust and, 30; worker-client sexual interactions, 128–31

  Airbnb hosts. See hosts

  Airbnb in the City report (New York State), 40

  Alden, William, 40

  Alfreds, 188. See also Hello Alfred

  algorithm-based acceptance and response rates, 5, 55; overview, 2, 5, 6; anti-trust law violations and, 71; deactivation and, 82–83; negative reviews and, 13; opaqueness of, 84–85; TaskRabbit, 1–2

  alienation, 37

  Amazon Family, 30–31, 73

  American labor history: overview, 8, 89; accident rates, 93; breaks, 87; British law and, 64–65; collective bargaining attempts, 64–65; early 20th century strikes, 68–70; early strikes, 64; 19th century strikes, 65–66, 67, 68; piecemeal system, 68; ten-hour workdays, 65; textile industry and, 66–67; Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911, 92, 93, 226–27n3, 227n8; unionization attempts, 64–65, 93; workers’ compensation, 92–94

  anonymity, 23, 48, 91, 156

  apps, 2, 6, 50, 53

  Arets, Martijn, 28fig. 2

  Arieff, Allison, 231n4

  Arkwright, Richard, 66

  Aronowitz, Stanley, 37

  Asch Building, 92, 226–27n3

  Autor, David, 181, 186

  background checks: criminal activity and, 140, 144; drivers and, 143; Googling clients, 170–72; screening mechanisms, 113–15; trust and, 29, 208; Uber and, 43, 167

  Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, 68, 69

  Barnes vs. Costle, 119

  bartering, 29, 69

  Basow, Susan, 127

  bathroom access, 87–89, 104–7, 228n30. See also urination issues

  Beck, Jessica, 187–88

  Becker, Ben, 174–75

  benefits: access to, 189; guilds and, 71–72; portable benefits plan, 201–2, 203; productivity and, 190; provision of, 23; temporary workers lack of, 180; two-tier systems of, 94; unemployment benefits, 94, 177, 187; unionization and, 71, 177–78; vacation time, 177

  Bentham, Jeremy, 15

  Bergman, Barbara, 119

  bidding marketplace model, 1, 55, 56, 79, 137–38

  Black Car Fund fees, 76

  black car services, 27, 49–50, 51, 76, 133, 223n75, 227n30

  booking fees, 74–75

  Boott Cotton Mills Museum, 67

  breaks: in early-industrial system, 67, 87; lack of, 87–88, 90–91; monitoring and, 179; requests for, 90–91, 121. See also bathroom access

  British law, 64–65, 66, 92

  broken-windows theory, 151–52

  Brynjolfsson, Erik, 17, 162, 186

  Bureau of Economic Analysis, 9

  Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10, 37, 101, 176, 180

  business-to-business tier, 182, 228n14

  Busque, Leah, 54

  C2C (consumer-to-consumer sales). See consumer-to-consumer (C2C) sales

  Callinicos, Brent, 76

  Camp, Garrett, 49, 223n75

  Cantillon, Ricard, 36

  Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Piketty), 40

  capitalism, 5, 23

  capital issue: overview, 7, 23, 31, 39; distribution inequality, 186; in gig economy services, 166–68; hosts and, 19–20, 165; human and social capital, 183; participant recruitment and methodology, 42

  career opportunities, 23, 36, 50, 56, 58–59, 162–63, 162–64. See also entrepreneurship

  cashless payment systems, 26, 53

  casualization of criminality, 151, 152

  casualization of labor: overview, 22, 31; domestic service and, 152; increase of, 36–38; results of, 139, 156; traditional employment and, 184

  Chapin, Andrew, 226n36

  Chase Institute, 194

  chefs: age of, 59; Allen, 162; Ashaki, 162–63; bathroom restrictions, 87–88; chef-driven platforms, 57; choices, 167–68; closure of Kitchensurfing, 231n6 (ch.7); Damla, 88, 158–59, 161–62, 167; David, 95–97, 164; educational level of, 59–60; entrepreneurship and, 161–62; escrow services, 229n6; flexibility, 162–63; Francesco, 87–88, 167–68; gender of, 59; Joe, 88; Laura, 164, 167; Lucca, 168; marketing opportunities, 162–64; race of, 59; Randall, 123–27, 162, 168; Roxanne, 117–18, 121–22, 123; sexual harassment, 117–18; workplace injuries and, 95–97

  child labor, 65, 70, 224n12, 225n25

  choices: overview, 23; chefs and, 167–68; criminal activity and, 143–47; entrepreneurial choice, 206–7; in gig economy services, 166–68; guest screening and, 168–72; perception of lack of, 98–100, 106–7, 138–39, 139, 145–47, 156, 157; surplus of, 156

  Christensen, Clayton, 207–8

  Civil Rights Act of 1964, 118–19

  class issues: discrimination and, 38, 193; instability and, 38; middle class polarization, 186; unexotic underclass, 231n4; vulnerability and, 38, 193–94; work-life balance and, 38

  Cleveland, Grover, 68

  clients: communication issues, 63, 100, 141, 148–49; complaints against workers, 62–63; escrow services for, 57; fake accounts, 140; information on, 114–15, 140; lack of job details from, 97–98; ratings and reviews, 121, 156; reduced costs for, 56; response rates of, 84; screening of, 47, 168–71; tipping, 77; websites geared to, 58. See also criminal activity; sexual harassment

  clothing swaps, 9

  Cohen, Patricia, 205–6

  collaborative consumption, 9, 26, 27, 194, 208

  collective bargaining, 64–65, 70, 71

  collective consciousness, 32

  Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation, 68–69

  Commission on Industrial Relations, 93

  commission structure model: independent contractor status and, 199–201box 1; Juno/Gett, 190–91; Lyft, 75; TaskRabbit, 6, 80, 185; Uber, 75–76, 184; worker control and, 182

  Committee on Public Safety, 93

  communication issues: Airbnb, 63; anonymity and, 141; client/worker communication, 63, 100, 141, 148–49; drivers and, 191; human resources, 63–64; off-platform communication, 148–49; TaskRabbit, 63–64, 80; Uber, 63, 78, 108–9, 191

  community: debate on, 23; human interactions and, 32–33; marketing as, 21; Peers as, 72; promise of, 5; urban culture and, 31, 32, 33

  competition, 38, 78, 185,
207

  connected consumption, 26. See also collaborative consumption

  consignment shop fees, 27

  consumer-to-consumer (C2C) sales, 27, 42. See also on-demand services

  contactless payment systems, 6

  Contexts (journal), 27

  contributory negligence, 92, 93

  Corporation for Economic Development, 195

  cottage industry. See piecemeal system

  Couchsurfing, 9, 26, 27

  Craigslist, 9, 26, 175, 194

  creative destruction theory, 207–8

  credit card debt, 4, 9, 35, 220n16, 226n36

  criminal activity: overview, 2, 23, 134–39; enabling, 140–42; illegal rentals, 149–54; online scamming, 147–49; race/class issues and, 193; safer to participate, 143–47; vulnerability and, 195; workplace protections from, 154–57

  criminal-offense screenings, 30

  CrowdFlowers, Inc., 38, 73, 226n35. See also Figure Eight

  Crowd Rent, 26

  Crunchbase, 76

  cultural capital, 165, 166–67

  deactivations: Airbnb, 81–82; bathroom use and, 88–89; Bryan, 78; non-working periods and, 86–87; off duty status and, 85–86; response rates and, 81–82; TaskRabbit, 82–83

  de Blasio, Bill, 52fig. 8

  Del Valle, Fidel F., 143–44

  depression of 1819–1822, 65

  deregulation, 178

  Design: The Invention of Desire (Helfand), 207

  DiFazio, William, 37

  disability accommodations: access to, 188; avoidance of, 36; independent contractor status and, 94, 96

  discretion, 153–54

  discrimination: overview, 6; age-based, 62; guest screening and, 168–72; independent contractor status and, 94; instability and, 38; in sharing economy, 35–36

  disruption: overview, 6, 8; Arieff on, 231n4; disruptive innovation, 207–8; term usage, 30

  Dollars and Sex (Adshade), 127

  double income families, 37

  dream jobs: overview, 158–59; entrepreneurship made easy, 161–63; host choice/guest screening, 168–72; as marketing opportunity, 163–66; skills, capital, and choice, 166–68; skills and capital, 160; stigma and, 160–61

  Driver Injury Protection insurance, 102

  drivers: age of, 53, 223n85; assault and harassment of, 103–4; Baran, 167; bathroom use, 88; cost of miles driven, 184–85; dangers of driving for hire, 101–4; Driver Injury Protection insurance, 102; driver requirements, 167; educational level of, 53, 223n85; employee classification of, 198fig. 14; gender issues, 227–28n30; Gerald, 107–9; health issues of, 104–6; Hector, 106–7, 144–47; high capital-barrier, 167; identity checks, 113–14; immigrant status of, 53; income level, 54, 184–85, 223n85, 233n54; insurance requirements, 222–23n64; Juno/Gett, 190–91, 233n72; Larry, 88, 104; licensing requirements, 222–23n64; Muhammad, 132–33; Oybek, 103–4, 106; race of, 53; registration requirements, 222–23n64; safety issues, 227n16; as successful workers, 185; Uber auto loan/lease programs, 73–74; Uber website on, 53, 54fig. 10; vulnerability categories, 193–94; worker-client sexual interactions, 132–33; work stigma and, 160–61; Young, Maggie, 103

  drugs: overview, 23; drug package policies, 155; drug testing, 222n64; liability of carrying, 138–39, 157

  Dunlap, Al, 178

  durable-assets-sharing sites, 26, 27. See also Airbnb; Couchsurfing.com; Neighborgoods

  early-industrial system: overview, 5–6, 22, 60–64; American labor history, 64–71; devolving of employment practices, 6, 71–89

  East Village, 47–49, 48map1

  eBay: discrimination on, 36; as secondhand economy company, 27; sharing and, 29; sharing economy and, 175; as sharing economy company, 26; unemployment and, 61; usage by race, 194

  economic issues: architecture as economics, 17; economic inequality, 5; globalization, 187; need for multiple jobs, 15–16; slow-growth economy, 40; supply/demand concept, 177

  Economic Policy Institute, 9

  educational level: of chefs, 59–60; college-educated workers, 11, 15; of drivers, 53, 223n85; Etsy and, 39; of hosts, 49; of TaskRabbits, 56

  Ehrenreich, Barbara, 24, 91

  Elance-oDesk, 204

  Ellis Law, 41

  employee-employer social contract, 36, 177, 178, 179, 191–92; determining, 199–201box 1. See also casualization of labor

  employee monitoring, 179, 204–5, 206

  Employers’ Liability Acts of 1906 and 1908, 93

  enclosure movement, 66

  entrepreneurial ethos: Airbnb, 44–45, 45fig. 6, 171; Kitchensurfing, 58–59, 161–62, 171; Lyft, 171; personal responsibility and, 181–82; TaskRabbit, 56, 171; Uber, 52–53, 171; worker control and, 64, 171

  entrepreneurship: overview, 6, 23, 31; Airbnb and, 44; capital requirements for, 40; democratization of, 5, 6, 34, 186; independent contractor status and, 206–7; inequality and, 38, 183, 186; Kitchensurfing and, 58; for the masses, 5, 6; platforms and, 181–82; reduction of barriers to, 38; start-up expenses, 19; subsistence entrepreneurism, 39; transaction risks, 36–38; transformative role of, 38; unpaid work and, 6; work stigma and, 161. See also entrepreneurial ethos

  errand jobs, 41

  escrow services, 44, 57, 229n6

  ethnicity, 49, 169, 171

  Etsy, 39

  E-Verify program, 11

  EV Grieve (blog), 41

  evictions, 41, 46

  exchange of services, 27, 29

  expenses: bathroom access and, 106–7; Black Car Fund fees, 76; booking fees, 74–75; cleaning fees, 109; consignment shop fees, 27; cost of miles driven, 184–85; fee-based services, 9; out-of-pocket expenses, 140–42, 229n6; platform service fees, 5, 55–56, 79–80, 224n2; rental car fees, 3, 5, 167; transactions costs, 27

  expenses of consumption, 9

  Facebook, 29, 30, 50, 55, 72, 107, 114, 170–71, 206

  Factory Investigating Commission, 93

  factory work: Dover, New Hampshire, 67; Lowell, Massachusetts, 66–67; Paterson, New Jersey, 65–66, 224n12; strikes in, 67; workers’ compensation and, 92–94

  Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, 70, 89, 189, 196, 225n23

  Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1966, 70, 89

  Family and Medical Leave Act, 196

  family issues: double income families, 37; family decay, 32; family leave protections, 94; split-attention parenting, 16

  Farley, Lin, 119

  fax machine analogy, 17

  Federal Reserve Board reports, 9, 41, 175, 176, 220n16

  Federal Trade Commission, 233n54

  fellow servant rule, 92

  Fenton, Anny, 33

  54-hour bill, 93

  Figure Eight, 38. See also CrowdFlower

  financing programs: Santander, 3, 73; Uber, 3, 73

  flexibility: overview, 6, 15, 16; addressing need for, 177; in-demand job skills and, 38; independent contractor status and, 111; of Kitchensurfing, 167–68; limits to, 86–87; stigmatization of usage of, 184; successful workers, 10–11, 19, 159

  FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) of 1938, 70, 89, 189, 196, 225n23

  Food and Drug Act of 1906, 93

  Food and Drug Administration, 93

  food swaps, 31

  free hospitality-exchange websites, 26. See also Couchsurfing

  Freelancers’ Union, 72, 201

  free services/websites, 9, 26

  Frenken, Koen, 28fig. 2

  Gebbia, Joe, 30

  Geller, Justin, 189

  Gemeinschaft, 31–36

  gender issues: gender of chefs, 59; gender of drivers, 53; gender of hosts, 49, 165; gender of TaskRabbits, 56; piecemeal system, 66, 68; sexual harassment and, 119–20; stereotypical work; vulnerability categories, 193–94

  gentrification, 47

  Gesellschaft, 31–36

  Gett/Juno, 190–91, 233n72

  gig economy: overview, 8; comparison of services of, 166–68; evaluation of, 174; labor rights and, 71; as marketing opportunity, 163–64; as sharing economy, 26; term u
sage, 5, 31; workplace protections and, 94; work stigma and, 160–61. See also collaborative consumption; Craigslist; PayPal

  giving-out system, 66. See also piecemeal system

  Glass, Elliot, 174–75

  Goffman, Erving, 161

  Good Jobs, Bad Jobs (Kalleberg), 183

  good jobs strategy, 207

  The Good Jobs Strategy (Ton), 190

  grassroots organizations, 72

  Great Depression, 8, 69, 178, 195

  Great Divergence, 8

  Great Recession of 2007, 8–9, 26, 61, 175, 176, 180

  The Great Risk Shift (Hacker), 181

  Greenhouse, Steven, 230n11

  Griswold, Alison, 184

  guest screening, 47, 168–72

  Guesty, 72

  guilds, 71

  Hacker, Jacob, 37, 181

  hackerspaces, 27

  Hall, Elaine, 121

  Hall, Jonathan, 38

  Handy: as exchange of services, 27; homeless workers and, 42; independent contractor status and, 36; lawsuits by workers against, 38; term reinvention and, 29

  happy worker model, 178, 190, 207

  Harris, Seth, 196, 201, 202

  Hart, Keith, 186

  Hawthorne effect, 232n24

  health insurance coverage, 233n52; access to, 152, 162, 187, 188, 190; Airbnb and, 72; costs of, 186; Driver Injury Protection insurance, 102; Hello Alfred and, 188; high-deductible plans, 37; independent contractor status and, 94, 190–91, 196; Kitchensurfing and, 59; lack of, 152, 156, 207; Managed by Q, 190; MyClean and, 190; Postmates and, 110–11; productivity and, 190; TaskRabbit and, 92; Uber and, 74, 102; unionization and, 177

  Helfand, Jessica, 207

  Hello Alfred, 172, 187–89, 207

  Henson, Kevin D., 122

  Higgins, Michelle, 220n21

  high capital-barriers, 43tab. 1, 160, 166–68, 183

  high skill-barriers, 42–43, 43tab. 1, 160, 166–68, 183

  Hispanics, 169

  Holden, Jeff, 76

  HomeAway, 20

  homelessness, 3–4, 42

  host communication, 29, 43

  hosts: Airbnb website on, 44–45; choices, 167, 168; Christopher, 169; educational level, 49; entrepreneurship and, 164–66; Gabriele, 82, 132, 170–71; guest screening, 47, 168–72; host discrimination, 35–36; host-guest interactions, 33–34, 128–31; as independent contractors, 36; Instant Book service, 170; James, 167, 168, 170; Jessica, 165; Joshua, 165, 170, 192–93; landlord-tenant disputes, 230n17; landlord-tenant issues, 222n49; Matthew, 132; race of, 49; Rachel, 132; Ramona, 170; response time frame, 203; Ryan, 165; strategies of, 231n8 (ch.7); as striving workers, 166, 183; as successful workers, 164–66, 183; Yosef, 128–31, 165

 

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