The “Ideal” Gig Worker and Prop 22
Plot shows identity characteristics of gig workers who expressed support for Prop 22. We find that two-thirds of workers stated traditional work is exclusionary and need gig work to make ends meet.
California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) codified rules for classifying a worker as an independent contractor or an employee. The bill would have resulted in reclassification of many gig workers, such as drivers and delivery workers, as employees. Shortly after the bill passed major gig companies developed a ballot initiative (Prop 22) to overturn AB5. With my collaborator, Jared Joseph, we combined both computational and qualitative methods to analyze voter sentiment, issue framing and rhetoric of the Protect App-Based Services and Drivers (Yes on Prop 22) campaign, and why some workers responded favorably to Prop 22 despite research showing overturning AB5 would result in lost earnings.
Presentations:
Hunter, Savannah and Jared Joseph. (May 2021). “Flexibility, Community, and the ‘Unideal Worker’: An Analysis of the YesonProp22 Campaign Messaging.” UC Davis Sociology Research and Development Conference.
Hunter, Savannah and Jared Joseph. (March 2021). “The ideal gig-worker: an analysis of rideshare drivers’ supportive stories for CA Prop 22.” Oral Presentation: The 92nd Annual Pacific Sociological Association Meeting.