The Starting Point and The Bottom Line for The Gig Economy
No competitive advantage should come at the expense of workers
In Postmates CEO: Gig workers deserve better than what we have given them, Bastian Lehmann, the CEO of Postmates, acknowledges that gig economy companies — like Postmates — need to make a better deal with their principal workforce: gig workers. As he states,
The gig economy faces challenges today that technology alone cannot fix. On-demand delivery and transportation has provided unprecedented flexibility to millions of workers and turbocharged small businesses and local economies. But recent strikes and calls for better pay and benefits underscore the need for change. So do the conflicting signals from courts, regulators and lawmakers about whether gig workers should be considered traditional employees or independent contractors, or if they should be under a new category.
We need a comprehensive approach that ends this confusion and empowers gig workers without taking away their flexibility or ability to innovate.
Legislators in California are debating a bill, known as AB5, that would reclassify gig workers as employees. My fellow CEOs at Uber and Lyft have offered a different framework, with new benefits and protections for ride-share drivers.
