While the gig economy helps people stay employed during tough times, the companies that employ these workers do everything they can to keep them out of unions.

During Black Friday weekend 2020, around 500 German Amazon workers went on strike for three days to protest poor COVID-19 safety measures. Next-day delivery times were cut to days, and then the German trade union Verdi called a second strike this week. Two years ago, Uber drivers in the UK staged a nationwide 24-hour strike.

Why are tech workers striking? Because they are being exploited and the law is not helping.

Comparing the plight of workers in modern-day Europe and the US to workers during the Industrial Revolution is a bridge too far, but there are parallels. Back then, it was illegal for workers to gather and protest working conditions or anything else.