Sharing isn't always sharing. Photo: Flickr / anjanettew
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The occurrence of "sharing" and "share" in literature between 1950 and 2008, via Google Ngram Viewer
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Sharewashing, when done well, doesn't just evoke a warm generosity. It can conceal ugly things too. Peel back the wrapper and you find that beneath its promised efficiencies and innovations, the sharing economy moniker can sometimes whitewash operations that are tax-shifting, labor-regulation-skirting, and tip-stealing. When a TaskRabbit temp worker, or a TaskRabbit as they're called, completes a contract—which, based on their website’s messaging, you’d be forgiven for mistaking with a community volunteer opportunity—the TaskRabbit has none of the labor protections that are normally afforded to employees at a traditional company. What’s better than being someone’s butler or maid? Being someone’s part-time butler or maid with no benefits, taxed at an independent contractor rate, no guarantee of a minimum wage, and no assurance of a safe work environment. But you do get to wear a cool t-shirt to work.We didn't invent car sharing. We just brought it to a street near you. Mark Norman addresses #sharingeconomy skeptics http://t.co/ugl3SoRTtg
— Zipcar (@Zipcar) January 8, 2014
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TaskRabbits have yet to mount a serious effort to demand a minimum wage, but Uber has been battling tip-related protests and lawsuits around the country for months. One of the most recent, in Boston, was a botched attempt to organize an Uber driver strike in response to a major fare cut. Earlier and still pending, is a class-action lawsuit claiming that Uber has been improperly withholding driver tips. The complaint alleges that “drivers do not receive the tips that are customary in the car service industry and that they would otherwise receive were it not for Uber’s communication to customers that they do not need to tip.” Interestingly, drivers are required to waive their rights to a class-action lawsuit against the company when they begin work as an Uber driver—or rather as an Uber independent contractor."sharing economy" needs to be rebranded to reflect its reality… "service economy for rich people"? what?
— Christopher Mims (@mims) January 13, 2014
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Striking cab drivers attack Uber cars in Paris. Dozen incidents of vandals reported. http://t.co/u2FT4ke3k5 pic.twitter.com/62pu0DdMw3
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) January 13, 2014
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To be sure, sharing can mean some serious social and environmental benefits. And a slicker, "frictionless" customer experience, without a middle man, can save time and aggravation when ordering a cab or a temp worker or a place to stay. There are serious potential cost savings too.But if the lower cost is because the formerly unionized employees are now freelancers, or because there's no minimum wage, or because tips are hidden from the customer and the employee, the costs of these apps can be pricier than they look. Brash young Ayn-Rand-quoting Silicon Valley honchos might dispute it, but protecting workers from unfair burdens and ensuring decent pay isn't a bad thing. There are apps for that, like regulations and protests.We don't need to make a false choice between any company that would call itself part of the sharing economy and a pre-tech world of terrible taxi service and job-post boards at the local coffee shop. There's a real promise to shared resources and the community/environmental benefits that can bring. The hope is that the media, both the PR experts and the journalists, can wipe their eyes clean of the sharing buzz, and that new companies can fulfill their "sharing" promises while meeting the expectations that we've already set for labor and services. That they can pay their workers fairly and treat customers fairly and responsibly, and do other things we tend to think of as being equitable and fair. You know, the things we think about when we think about sharing.Kelly (@KellyCarlin4) is a writer and an advisor to the ridesharing company Bandwagon.Brash young Ayn-Rand-quoting Silicon Valley honchos might dispute it, but protecting workers from unfair burdens and ensuring decent pay isn't a bad thing.