The Long Argument: Capital vs. Labor · Episode 10 of 12 · 23 min
The Fissured Workplace: Gig Work and Prop 22
Large American firms have shed direct employment since about 1980 through outsourcing, subcontracting and franchising while keeping control of their brands. Smartphone platforms pushed that to its end, with workers managed by algorithms yet classified as independent. The classification war from Dynamex to Proposition 22 is a fight over who is the employer.
Who's who
- David WeilEconomist who named the fissured workplace; led Labor's Wage and Hour Division
- Travis KalanickCo-founder of Uber
- Garrett CampCo-founder of Uber
- Lorena GonzalezCalifornia Assemblymember who authored AB5
- Goodwin LiuCalifornia Supreme Court justice who wrote the Castellanos opinion upholding Prop 22
- Veena DubalUC Irvine law professor and critic of platform classification
- Alan Krueger+1 more episodePrinceton economist who co-proposed an independent-worker third category
Where it happens
- California+30 more episodesSetting of Dynamex, AB5 and Proposition 22
Timeline
- 1935-1938Wagner Act and Fair Labor Standards Act tie protections to employee status
- February 2014Weil publishes The Fissured Workplace
- April 30, 2018Dynamex decision adopts the ABC test in California
- September 18, 2019Governor Newsom signs AB5
- November 3, 2020Proposition 22 passes with about 58.6 percent of the vote
- July 25, 2024California Supreme Court upholds Proposition 22 in Castellanos
Still debated
How much fissuring explains inequality, whether drivers prefer independence, and what Prop 22 work pays per hour are all disputed, with no neutral comprehensive audit. Federal classification status was also unsettled, with the 2026 proposed rule not final.
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