The gig economy has often been criticized for its lack of worker protections and benefits, but platform cooperatives offer a viable alternative model that prioritizes people and communities. In this keynote, Trebor Scholz will delve into the principles and models of platform co-ops and provide examples from sectors such as mobility, care, and delivery. Scholz will illustrate how Drivers Co-op, the tertiary ride hailing company in NYC, can support worker self-management while also contesting traditional platform businesses.
While cooperatives that chiefly rely on digital platforms are not a one-size-fits-all solution, they can be a valuable element in the social economy toolkit. Join our keynote in exploring how platform cooperatives can contribute to a more equitable and sustainable digital future, especially in the global south, by combining the innovation of digital platforms with the long-standing principles of cooperatives.
Trebor Scholz
Founding Director of the Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy, Platform Cooperativism Consortium, The New School
R. Trebor Scholz is a community-engaged scholar, author, and Founding Director of the Platform Cooperativism Consortium at The New School in New York City. His book Uber-Worked and Underpaid. How Workers Are Disrupting the Digital Economy introduces the concept of "platform cooperativism" as a way of joining the co-op model with the digital economy. Other volumes include Ours to Hack and to Own: Platform Cooperativism. A New Vision for the Future of Work and a Fairer Internet (listed by Wired Magazine as one of the Top Tech Books of 2017) and Digital Labor: The Internet as Playground and Factory. As a professor in residence at Mondragon University, a former fellow at Open Society Foundations, and the USC Berggruen Institute, Scholz keynotes conferences and presents to a wide range of audiences worldwide. Dr. Scholz’ articles and ideas have appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, The Financial Times, Le Monde, and The Washington Post. He is also a Faculty Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.
To learn more, visit platform.coop