The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new spotlight on income inequality and the grievous conditions facing frontline and service workers. The attention, however, has done little to curb the causes of these problems.
The assault has been led by companies in the tech sector, specifically those that operate in the low-paid and gig economies. Proposition 22 in California, Instacart’s ongoing undermining of workers and Amazon’s union-busting typify these policies. As a result, gig companies grew more than ever in 2020, while gig workers are among the hardest hit and most at-risk, and account for a significant percentage of unemployment claims. More generally, the ILO reported that globally workers have collectively lost $3.7 trillion in income during the pandemic, while billionaires have made $3.9 trillion altogether during the same period.
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