What’s Going On in the Workforce?
“…jobs are at high risk of being automated in 47% of the occupational categories into which work is customarily sorted.” What’s going to happen after that?, the Economist wonders. If only we lived on widgets alone…
More and more of us are going to need to figure out how to work best in distributed environments. Here’s a great post from the folks at web-hosting company Mongo on how they make it work for them.
In a new take on “non-traditional worker” organizing, Canadian clergy are organizing with a chapter of Canada’s largest private-sector union, Unifor.
It often seems like there’s an unresolvable tension between utopians (tech will bring us happiness & prosperity!) and dystopians (tech will wipe out wealth & through us into poverty!)—and not just on my to-be-read shelf. Erik Brynjolfsson talks a little bit here, about why he’s a mindful optimist on this.
Tired of getting the side-eye from your local barista, and yet not quite willing to plunk down the coin for a co-working space? How about a cafe where you pay for the time you spend there, not the number of cups of coffee you drink?
Geeking Out
So you wanna build a car from a kit? Say hi to Tabby, the Ikea of cars.
Sharing, Solidarity & Sustainability
“…if the lower cost is because the formerly unionized employees are now freelancers, or because there’s no minimum wage, or because tips are hidden from the customer and the employee, the cost of these apps can be pricier than they look.” The perils of the “share washing” economy.
In a sure sign that the “sharing” economy is here to stay, its had its first Congressional hearing.
Organizing Theory
If you’re in charge of figuring out how to incorporate online activism in campaigns, you’re really going to want to read this new report by Greenpeace Mobilisation Lab on online petition campaigns. Key takeaway for me? Online petitions that target high-level elected officials or major corporations are less likely to win than those that target small businesses or local electeds. And as with anything, wins matter.
Last month, I went to my first-ever Rootscamp in DC, and the people who sent chills down my spine talking about their work were the online organizers of OUR Walmart. Sarah Jaffe profiles their organizing techniques, here.
Reputation, Reputation, Reputation
In the UK, the right of unions to protect their confidential membership data from the government is under attack.
If big retailers have their way, “discriminatory pricing” could be coming to a Target near you. Interested in how that works? Try searching for the same flights on a MacBookPro, and then from a cheap netbook.
It’s not just the driverless car that will be able to track your every move—today’s cars store data about where & when you travel. Do we need a privacy policy for our cars?
From Partners
Lots of us spend time figuring out how to win campaigns—the folks from the Freelancers’ Movement have laid out their analysis of a successful campaign website here. Bonus points for its in-depth look at the structure of Peers’ website.
And speaking of worldwide activism, here’s a call for folks to participate in a worldwide wave of actions in 2014.
Final Thoughts
“In protest, there must never be any compromise. In politics, there is always compromise.”
Bayard Rustin