All articles tagged with #gig economy
Paula González-Nasser’s debut feature, The Scout, premieres in theaters this week, offering an intimate look at the emotional toll of location scouting in New York City. Based on her own experiences, the film follows Sofia, a scout navigating the city’s logistical and human complexities, revealing how transactional work creates profound isolation.
New York City secured a record $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash to compensate 264,000 delivery workers for underpayment and late wages. The deal, which includes $115 million in worker relief and a three-year monitoring program, marks a significant escalation in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s broader regulatory campaign against gig economy platforms.
New York City has finalized a $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash, marking the largest resolution for delivery workers in US municipal history. The deal addresses underpayments and late wages affecting approximately 264,000 workers between 2023 and 2026. Of the total sum, $115 million will be distributed directly to workers, while $16.7 million covers civil penalties and program costs. The agreement stems from a probe by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, which found DoorDash failed to meet minimum pay standards. DoorDash has acknowledged the errors, attributing them to technical bugs and complex delivery scenarios, and has committed to paying affected workers in the coming weeks. The settlement also mandates three years of data reporting and the development of software to allow workers to monitor pay algorithms.
DoorDash has agreed to a $131.5 million settlement with New York City to resolve allegations of underpaying and late-paying delivery workers. The deal, announced on September 22, 2026, includes $115 million in direct relief for approximately 264,000 workers and $16.7 million in civil penalties. The company admitted to 'screwing up' due to technical bugs and complex delivery scenarios, while the city cited 'design tricks' that deprived workers of over $550 million in tips. The settlement includes a three-year monitoring program and requires DoorDash to adopt the city's method for calculating on-call pay.
BuzzFeed compiles 27 unconventional ways people earn extra money—from hosting trivia and babysitting to mock juries, selling plant cuttings, flea-market flips, and CBD hemp stalls—showing that, with effort and opportunity, many can add hundreds of dollars monthly to their income.
Waymo’s robotaxis accounted for about 15% of gross ride bookings in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and 16% in Phoenix in June, per Yipit, with shares remaining in the mid-teens as the service expands. The impact on human drivers is likely to show up first in utilization metrics (more idle time, longer waits, fewer trips per hour) rather than outright layoffs, since drivers are flexible independent workers. Measuring displacement is difficult due to data gaps and the gig-economy structure; industry voices suggest a gradual shift toward a hybrid future as AVs scale.
Hundreds of thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers in California are on the cusp of forming what organizers say will be the world’s largest rideshare union, after the state labor board certified support from at least 30% of active drivers under AB 1340. The California Gig Workers Union (CGWU) is expected to be certified as the exclusive bargaining representative after a 30‑day waiting period, with dues not charged until a collective bargaining agreement is ratified. Major bargaining points include pay, benefits, deactivation from the apps, and working conditions for drivers statewide.
Shenzhen is expanding robotaxis to promote autonomous mobility, in a saturated taxi market with about 400,000 licensed drivers earning roughly 13 fares a day; July rules will enable robotaxi tests citywide as operators like Pony.ai and Baidu run pilots, raising concerns among drivers that automation could replace or erode livelihoods even as robotaxis may eventually supplement human drivers in China’s gig economy amid policy aims to address an ageing workforce and a manufacturing shift.
JD.com founder Richard Liu warned that rapid automation could eventually replace about 700,000 delivery workers, as the company trains couriers for robot maintenance and runs pilot programs (e.g., airport delivery robots and robot restocking). The comments highlight policymakers’ worries about gig workers amid China’s push on robotics in its five-year plan, with youth unemployment rising and debates over social protections for platform workers.
OnlyFans is appearing in high-profile TV storylines (e.g., Euphoria and Margo's Got Money Troubles) as characters use the platform to survive amid financial strain; the trend reflects growing realism in the gig economy on screen and prompts a debate on exploitation versus representation, rather than a paid promotion.
A German AI-training startup, MicroAGI, is partnering with Shift to offer New Yorkers free home cleaning in exchange for recording the cleaning process with cameras to train future household robots, promising anonymization of faces and IDs; cleaners may decline specific tasks, and the service covers chores from vacuuming to reorganizing spaces; the offer is limited-time with plans to expand to London, Munich, and Zurich, though questions remain about data usage and how (or if) videos can be removed after training.
More than 1 million people in the UK now have a second job as rising living costs, insecure work and industry changes push workers into a growing gig economy. The Office for National Statistics puts current second-job numbers at about 1.3 million (a dip from a 2025 peak of 1.35 million), while just under five million people participate in gig work overall. Personal stories from Bristol illustrate the strain—entrepreneurs, reception staff, bar workers and festival gig workers who juggle multiple roles, sometimes living in a van to cut costs—highlighting a broader shift toward flexible, multi‑job lives. AI-driven changes in design are also pushing freelancers to diversify, and for some, flexible work arrangements help manage childcare and expenses, underscoring how financial precarity is reshaping attitudes toward work.
Scott Klipper, a 39-year-old hedge-fund managing director and busy dad, vibe coded Trot My Tot—a NYC-area on-demand platform that connects families with short-term trotters (nannies or college students) for quick gigs like school pickups. Using no-code tools like Lovable, Cursor, and Replit, he built profiles, booking, and Stripe payments, plus vetting steps (SSN verification, photos, driver’s license, CPR); the service has about 600 users and 149 trots completed, with trotters’ charges capped at $25 and optional paid tiers. Klipper calls it a prototype, not a money-maker, and plans to expand to other caregiving tasks while tightening screening.
Joi AI is recruiting 10 adults in the U.S. and U.K. to serve as "masturbation consultants" for four weeks, paying $2,000 per month to test its Daily Guided Masturbation feature that uses mood‑matched AI voice sessions; testers will document impacts on stress, sleep, mood, and confidence and submit feedback to the company as part of product testing and industry discussion on AI's role in sexual wellness.
DoorDash announced a $50 million gas-price relief initiative to help its delivery workers offset rising fuel costs, reflecting continued efforts to support gig-economy drivers amid higher gasoline prices.