Should Online Platforms Have Unions?

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In October 2019, two DoorDash drivers — Dave Levy and Nikos Kanelopoulos — launched the #DeclineNow Facebook group. The duo had discovered that when a DoorDash driver declines a delivery, the app offers that delivery to another driver for higher pay. In the Facebook group, which now numbers more than 30,000 members, they urged peers to reject any delivery that doesn't pay at least $7 — more than double the base rate of $3. “Every app-based, on-demand company’s objective is to constantly shift profits from the driver back to the company,” Levy explained. “Our objective is the reverse of that.” On September 1, 2021, many Twitch streamers participated in a coordinated protest — taking the day off streaming in response to the platform’s perceived inaction against harassment of marginalized creators.