Sen. Elizabeth Warren issued a warning about the downside of the “gig economy” Thursday during a speech about updating labor laws, casting doubt on the benefits of the ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft.
“Their business model is, in part, dependent on extremely low wages for drivers,” the Massachusetts senator and outspoken liberal said of the companies in a speech for the New America Foundation Thursday.
Warren added that, “for many, the gig economy is simply the next step in a losing effort to build some economic security in a world where all the benefits are floating to the top 10 percent.”
The majority of Warren’s address was meant to spell out an agenda for promoting economic security for workers who do not have traditional jobs with employer-provided benefits. The government, she recommended, must act to make sure that all workers, including contractors and the self-employed, are enrolled in Social Security, have catastrophic insurance and get paid leave.
She also, however, weighed in with comments critical of the ability of Uber, Lyft and Taskrabbit to improve people’s economic situations.
Referring to a recent move by the Austin, Texas, government to regulate ride-sharing companies that resulted in Uber and Lyft pulling out of the city, Warren accused the two companies of fighting “vigorously against local rules designed to create a level playing field” with taxi companies.
Warren did, however, credit Uber and Lyft for facilitating travel and lowering prices and for allowing some workers to take on additional work driving cars for the apps.
