Will there now be opportunities for gig unionists?

Sir, Sarah O’Connor thinks the unions might have a good chance to adapt to the gig economy “Gig economy deals promise a brighter future for trade unions” February 27.

I am not so sure. There is a de facto class war in the real economy between those with jobs wanting better conditions and those just wanting a job. And that is what nourishes the gig economy.

Imposing on the gig economy benefits, is just like raising minimum wages, it just raises the bar for the offer of jobs. An unconditional universal basic income would instead provide a step stool to better reach up to whatever jobs are offered.

Of course those who benefit, politically or financially, from a conditional redistribution, or from negotiating on behalf of workers, do not like that option as it clearly erodes their job opportunities. 

How will unions handle it? I have no idea; perhaps there will be some gig unionists.

PS. In the same vein, perhaps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a gig politician. We’ll see if she lands a second term. Having helped New York lose Amazon’s 25.000 well paying jobs does not bode well for here there. Perhaps she will get a call from another state.

PS. Amazon is one of those entities automating and robotizing the most. So it is a bit surprising to read that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opines “We should not be haunted by the specter of being automated out of work. . . . We should be excited by that”

@PerKurowski

There's a new class war brewing, that between employed and unemployed.

Sarah O’Connor, discussing the challenges of the Gig economy writes, “Offering employment benefits to drivers might well help to snap up the best workers and hang on to them. But if customers were not to shoulder the cost, investors would have to.”“Uber and Lyft’s valuations expose the gig economy to fresh scrutiny” January 2.

Sir, to that we must add that if the investors were neither willing to shoulder that cost, then the gig workers would have to do so, or risk losing their job opportunities.

That conundrum illustrates clearly the need for an unconditional universal basic income. Increasing minimum wages or offering other kind of benefits only raises the bar at which jobs can be created, while an UBI works like a step stool making it easier for anyone to reach up to whatever jobs are available.

Sarah O’Connor also mentions how a collective agreement was negotiated between a Danish gig economy company and a union. Great, but let us not forget that in the brewing class-war between employed and unemployed, the unions only represent the employed… and we do need decent and worthy unemployments too, before social order breaks down.

PS. There's another not yet sufficiently recognized neo-class-war too. That between those who have houses as investment assets and those who want houses as homes.

@PerKurowski

Professor Summers, more than unions representing the have-jobs, we need someone, anyone, representing the have-not!

Sir, Lawrence Summers, acting more like a union lobbyist, writes that "America needs its labour unions more than ever" September 4.

He does so blithely ignoring that “The shrinking of the union movement to the point where today only 6.4 per cent of private sector workers — a decline of nearly two-thirds since the late 1970s” sort of evidences an irrelevance of the unions. Does he want to make them relevant by force?

Also, when Summers writes “Consumers also appear more likely now to have to purchase from monopolies rather than from companies engaged in fierce price competition meaning that pay checks do not go as far” that squares little with the current low inflation.

Years ago, I wrote an Op-Ed titled “We need decent and worthy un-employments”. In it I argued that politicians are giving too much relative importance, and spending too many tax dollars, on creating jobs, and that it is high time to start thinking about what to do with those who will never ever have access to what we now consider is a job.

So in that respect I am certainly not too much keen on having unions fighting for those blessed by jobs, if that hurts in any way shape or form those who would want to have jobs but cannot get jobs.

Universal basic income seems to represent one alternative of how to face the challenge of structural unemployment. Finance professors would be much more useful thinking about smart ways how to fund an UBI than getting teary eyed nostalgic about union power.

Summers also writes: “The central issue in American politics is the economic security of the middle class and their sense of opportunity for their children”

Sir, anyone who keeps mum about how current risk weighted capital requirements give banks incentives to not finance the riskier future, but only to refinance the safer past has, as I see it, no right to speak about our children’s opportunities.

@PerKurowski

Nations need unions that represent the unemployed and to get a small universal basic income going, before it's too late

Sir, Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, interviewing Laurent Berger writes: “The leader of France’s largest trade union has warned Emmanuel Macron not to rush labour market reforms as the country’s new president kick-starts negotiations over a bill seen as crucial to revamping the eurozone’s second-biggest economy.The warning is a reminder of the labour relations minefield awaiting the pro-business president” “Macron warned by union leader not to rush reform” May 24.

That evidences how much France and all other nations also need unions that represent the unemployed, in order to create some equilibrium among the forces that influence labor politics.

And of course, setting up a universal basic income system, starting it with a small amount, in France perhaps €150 per month, would also begin to open up the roads to that new society in which robots and automation seem to create structural unemployment.

As I have opined since some years we do need decent and worthy unemployments... before its too late.

http://myubi.blogspot.com/2017/01/my-universal-basic-income.html

@PerKurowski

President Emmanuel Macron, listen to me, this is what you should understand before you act.

Sir, Martin Wolf reduces France’s problems to “low employment; the low rate of economic growth; and the sheer scale of public spending” “The big challenges facing France” May 10.

For a starter Wolf recommends Macron to get down on his knees: “The first priority is to pray for a strong recovery” this since “The persistently high unemployment must be at least partly cyclical”

Nothing wrong with praying, but I would suggest Macron first tries to understand more the origin of these problems.

Low employment? It can surely have something to do with an incipient wave of structural unemployment caused by robots and automation, in which case Macron better starts looking for tools to create decent and worthy unemployments, immediately, before things get out of hand.

Wolf writes: “Mr Macron needs to legislate his labour market”, and for that “The most important priority with the former is to reduce protection for permanent workers: few will hire if they cannot hope to fire.” Absolutely, and so perhaps what is needed are some unions that represent the unemployed and those that work less than 50% in the gig economy… and to get a national debate on universal basic income going, taking care of course of not letting that debate fall in hands of threaten redistribution profiteers. 

Low rate of economic growth? With risk weighted capital requirements for banks that favor the refinancing of the safer past and present over the financing of the riskier future, what else can be expected? I would suggest Macron calls in his bank regulators and asks for instance the questions linked here, and, if he cannot get satisfactory answers then he might copycat Trump: “Your fired!”

The sheer scale of public spending? Back to the regulators again: If you risk weigh the Sovereign at 0%, and the SMEs and entrepreneurs at 100%, you are heading to fall off the cliff of excessive public debt… no way to stop that. What would be the interest rates on French sovereign debt if banks had to hold the same capital (equity) against these loans than what they are required to hold against loans o French SMEs or entrepreneurs?

PS. Wolf writes: “Fortune favours the bold. Emmanuel Macron took a huge gamble and won”. Just out of curiosity, what would have been his huge loss had he not won? As I see it his huge loss would result from not doing what France needs.

@PerKurowski

Emigrants/Immigrants of the Whole New World Unite!

Sir if John Gapper can ask “Workers of the New World Unite!”, December 13, when referring to scriptwriters and designers then clearly the same rights should be bestowed on those that voting with their feet and with their remittances are perhaps even more the real workers of the New World, though they still lack a unison voice…. Emigrant/Immigrants of the Whole New World Unite!

Since in gross earnings the emigrants/immigrants definitely represent one of the major economies in the world, they (and the global corporations) are really the ones who should next be empowered with Chairs at the Executive Boards of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.