WEBVTT

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One of the central
tasks of this course

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has been to unpack the ways in
which work in today's economy

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has changed over time.

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Often, when we talk
about this topic,

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one of the first things
that comes to mind

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is the role of technology
in transforming work.

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Over the past few years, we
have seen an explosion in what's

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known as the on-demand economy.

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It's visible everywhere.

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We as consumers are able
to have our food delivered,

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grab a ride home, or even have
someone run their errands,

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all purchased and arranged
in a matter of minutes

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from our smartphones.

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Our colleague John
McCarthy talks

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in more detail
about these new ways

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of organizing work
in a different video

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lecture in this course.

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What we're going
to talk about now

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is how these
employment arrangements

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are connected to two issues--

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one, how we think
about workers' rights

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in the on-demand economy, and
two, how technology can promote

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new forms of worker advocacy
in settings where gigs,

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not full-time jobs
for one employer,

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are becoming the
employment norm.

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Many consumers and
workers alike find

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the flexibility and efficiency
of the on-demand economy

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to be beneficial.

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Work hours are
flexible, for instance,

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and the efficiency of
services saves people time.

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As has been pointed out,
however, many workers

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undertaking the actual
jobs of these companies

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are employed as
independent contractors,

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meaning that they are not direct
employees of the company that

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is bringing us the
good or the service.

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A babysitter who gets his work
through the website Care.com,

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for instance, is considered
to be self-employed.

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This means that the benefits and
protections that we associate

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with full time, stable jobs,
such as access to paid leave

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or unemployment
insurance, are not

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available to on-demand workers.

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Likewise, standards that
promote good, quality jobs

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are often absent from
these arrangements,

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as we've seen through
the recent protests

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by Uber drivers over
wages and terms of work

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in various cities.

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So the traditional system
of benefits and protections

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based on full time jobs
and employment status

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no longer makes sense
in these settings.

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Innovative, disruptive
technologies

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that change the way business
is done and work is performed

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require simultaneous
innovative changes

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in how workers are able to
access rights on the job.

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What we've talked
about in this course

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is updating the social
contract at work.

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One approach to such
change comes with support

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from a broad coalition of
technology firms, labor

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organizations, academics,
and foundations.

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The idea is pretty simple--

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that benefits and
protections should

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accrue with the work
being performed,

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no matter the employer.

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In other words, the number
of sick days, for instance,

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a gig worker can accrue should
depend on the number of hours

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she works, whether providing
rides or delivering groceries.

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Although firms would
contribute to these benefits

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and protections, they
would essentially

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remain with the worker,
allowing for economic security

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even when working for
multiple employers.

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They can be structured in a way
that promotes good jobs that

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pay living wages.

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And by making these
portable benefits universal,

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they can also extend to workers
beyond the on-demand economy,

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helping ease the now-commonplace
transitions that many of us

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experience moving from
one employer to the next.

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The idea of portable
benefits mimics

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these new on-demand
arrangements that

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characterize growing
portions of the economy.

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Likewise, advocates are
also finding new ways

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to use technology to promote
workers' rights on the job.

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In some cases, this is directly
relevant to on-demand workers

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themselves.

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Relatively new websites, such
as coworker.org and Dynamo,

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serve as online
hubs where workers

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can start petitions for
change, rate their experience

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with certain
employers, and connect

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with others in their industry.

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Turkopticon is a
similar application

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that allows crowd workers
on Amazon's Mechanical Turk

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to rate employers.

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These applications
compliment organizing efforts

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in other settings as well.

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In our last video, we
talked about Our Walmart,

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an organization of
non-unionized Walmart workers

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advocating for better
working conditions.

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Using an online campaign
through coworker.org,

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Our Walmart was recently able
to gather widespread support

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for their demands regarding
more stable hours.

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In response, Walmart changed
the way they schedule shifts.

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With support from an
innovative organization

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called the Workers Lab, which
promotes new forms of worker

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organizing, Our Walmart
is also developing

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an app that allows workers to
connect with one another while

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receiving peer-generated
advice and training

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relevant to their jobs.

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Other organizations are
developing applications

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that not only serve to
connect workers and mobilize

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around specific demands, but
also to inform and educate

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workers about their
rights on the job.

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The Domestic Worker
app, for example,

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was created in response to the
passage of a domestic worker

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bill of rights in
New York state.

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Caregivers, nannies, and
cleaners can call in or text

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to access both recorded and
live informational episodes

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and messages about their
rights under the state's

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new legislation.

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A different approach is taken
by the Restaurant Opportunity

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Center, the organization
of restaurant workers

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we discussed in our last video.

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The center's Top
Server app is a game

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that teaches its users
about the skills needed

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to advance in restaurants,
imparting training, knowledge,

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and even the lingo
used in restaurant work

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to servers looking for ways
to advance in the industry.

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To be clear, these
new forms of advocacy

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are not a replacement for
direct work or organizing

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and other advocacy work.

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But as these organizations
show, the types

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of technologies that are
transforming the way we work

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can also be used to
strengthen our efforts

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to create good jobs.

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And as the on-demand
economy continues

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to be fueled by growing
consumer demand,

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we will continue to be
presented with opportunities

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for a potential innovation
and re-establishing

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the social contract at work,
not just for on-demand workers,

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but for all workers
throughout the economy.