A Q&A with Ashoka Fellow and labor organizer Ai-jen Poo
Chances are that when you think of the online economy you’re not likely to think about progressive labor practices. In fact, online economy giants Amazon and Uber have recently come under fire for their labor standards and policies, the latter now dealing with a class-action lawsuit over its classification of Uber drivers as independent contractors.
But according to Ashoka Fellow Ai-jen Poo, founder and Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, we’re missing a big part of the story. In her view, online companies have an opportunity to lead the way in ensuring this economy is good for workers too – and many have already begun to do so.
Last week marked an important step forward as the NDWA unveiled the Good Work Code, a new initiative to promote good work in the online economy and change the conversation about labor in the 21st Century.
I sat down with Ai-jen and Palak Shah, Social Innovations Director at NDWA, to discuss what they hope to achieve with the initiative and how they see the tech sector becoming the new center of gravity for conversations about what good work looks like.
What is the online economy and why does this economy, in particular, need a good work code?
Palak: The online economy – or the ‘gig’ economy – is the rapidly growing part of our economy that connects people to work through online marketplaces and on-demand marketplaces, for example where workers get dispatched via apps to do various jobs – from driving cars to making veterinary house calls.
The issues for workers in this economy are well documented now: we’ve seen Uber drivers strike recently and multiple lawsuits alleging misclassification of workers. I think at the heart of these events is a struggle by workers to find a good job, something that everyone can relate to.
What we noticed is that online economy workers are facing many of the same challenges that domestic workers have faced for generations – working inconsistent hours, lack of contracts, low benefits or retirement options – and so it felt natural to use the experience of our workforce to offer ways forward to guarantee that the online economy works for all. And that means not just customers, not just investors, but workers too.
Ai-jen: Our goal is to create a new story – a new narrative – that’s not about abusive employers and downtrodden workers, but rather that brings companies front and center into the conversation about the future of good work. We see a moment of opportunity right now because the gig/online economy is relatively new and its values and principles regarding work are still forming. So there’s a window for the tech economy to actually lead in the economy of the future, and the Good Work Code gets things started by defining what good work looks like in the first place.
Your Good Work Code features 12 companies who have publicly endorsed the values articulated in the code – what exactly are they endorsing and committing to?
Palak: The 12 companies that made the initial list are publicly endorsing the eight values in the Good Work Code:
- Safety
- Stability and Flexibility
- Transparency
- Shared Prosperity
- A Living Wage
- Inclusion and Input
- Support and Connection
- Growth and Development
In addition, each is committing to focusing on at least two of the eight as priorities over the next year. The idea is to kick off a conversation – it doesn’t mean these companies will get to all eight right away, but it means they aspire to do so, and they are taking public steps to do so. And it means they won’t have to do so alone, but rather in a community of practice grappling with the same questions.
Can you give us an example of one of the companies on the list and what it’s doing that qualifies as supporting good work?
Palak: One example is SketchDeck, a company that provides design services mostly to businesses. They are tackling the problem of unpaid spec work – it turns out designers often do a significant amount of uncompensated work just to secure a contract that may or may not come through. SketchDeck is developing a creative way to aggregate designers and clients in a way that compensates designers, regardless of whether or not their work generates a contract.
Another example is LeadGenius, which is providing stability and flexibility to its workers by finding ways to better match work to worker schedules. This is one of the biggest challenges with online business models, but LeadGenius recognizes it is worth investing HR resources so that workers who are not getting enough work can get individual attention from the LeadGenius team.
Why is the tech economy especially well suited to lead the conversation about good work?
Ai-jen: Part of the reason, as we mentioned before, is that it’s a new and growing economy that’s still establishing its norms and values, so there’s room to build this into its DNA. Many of our initial companies are recent startups. But another big reason is that the tech sector is obsessed with solving problems – it’s just that most of its solutions have been focused on customers and consumers, on questions of efficiency but not equity. Now the question is: can they channel some of that creative talent toward solving labor problems that are particular to this economy, and toward shaping good work over the next decade? We want to surface the companies and investors interested in doing so.
Palak: The environment is also changing in ways that support our aims. For one, there is growing competition for recruiting workers into the online economy as various markets reach a saturation point. There’s also a growing national conversation. Meanwhile, more businesses are thinking about their employers as ‘users’ just in the same way they think about their customers – recognizing that both workers and customers need a good user experience in order to manage supply and demand, is the overwhelming challenge for all of these business models. So the business case for creating good work – in addition to the moral case – is becoming clearer.
Conversations about labor in this country inevitably get politicized. How do you champion good work in a way that has broad appeal?
Ai-jen: One way we’re doing it is working directly with companies outside of the political process at the moment. This doesn’t mean policy won’t matter or play a role – whether it’s about the minimum wage or portable benefits – but what’s nice about the Good Work Code is that it’s building an alternative center of gravity in Silicon Valley where real dialogue and real progress on these questions can take place.
The fact is, before we get the big policy wins we need, we have to create a new conversation that surfaces the champions and leaders and ultimately creates the context for the right policy solutions to come into being.
You know, ‘leadership’ has become a buzzword today but the fact is that real leadership is hard. That's why we are so inspired by these 12 companies actually stepping up and leading in a real way – and in a way that gives our members, and many others, hope about what is possible when it comes to labor in the 21st Century.
Interested in learning more – or in signing up your company for the Good Work Code? Reach out directly to Palak Shah: Palak@domesticworkers.org.
