Platform Power Dynamics

Gig platforms create a basic power imbalance between the company and the individual worker. The platform sets prices, controls access to customers, and can deactivate a worker with little recourse.

Algorithmic management adds another layer. Rating systems pressure workers to accept bad terms, and the algorithm decides who gets work with no clear explanation of how.

Workers are pushing back through new forms of collective action: driver cooperatives, worker-owned platforms, and campaigns for minimum-earnings guarantees. Whether the gig economy becomes a model of flexibility or a race to the bottom depends on how these fights play out.