Turning platform workers into owners : ESOP-type buyouts of labour-based platforms

Gonza, Tej (author), Ellerman, David P. (author)

Platform work is often characterised by economic insecurity, dehumanising control procedures, isolation, deepening racial, economic and gender inequalities, and other socio-economic problems. There are lively debates underway concerned with how to regulate or limit the negative effects of platform capitalism. This article reviews two of the most common calls for action – regulation and platform co-operatives. We argue that there is also an unexplored, complementary option, which uses the network effects of platforms to provide greater benefits for platform workers. To understand this alternative, we introduce the American Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) mechanism for employee buyouts, redefine the model according to the main cooperative values, and apply it to the platform economy. We conclude that there is a third option is available to governments and municipalities, namely to require an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in the local subsidiary of the platform company

• Language: English
• Keywords: platform economy, platform cooperativism, worker buyouts, platform ESOP
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 30.09.2022
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: Str. 665-681, 785
• Numbering: Letn. 59, št. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-142956
• UDC: 316.334.2:[331:004.774]
• ISSN on article: 0040-3598
• DOI: 10.51936/tip.59.3.665–681
• COBISS.SI-ID: 128600067
• Publication date in RUL: 06.12.2022

GONZA, Tej and ELLERMAN, David P., 2022, Turning platform workers into owners : ESOP-type buyouts of labour-based platforms. Teorija in praksa : revija za družbena vprašanja [online]. 2022. Vol. 59, no. 3, p. 665–681, 785. [Accessed 14 June 2025]. DOI 10.51936/tip.59.3.665–681. Retrieved from: https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=142956

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Teorija in praksa : revija za družbena vprašanja
• Shortened title: Teor. praksa
• Publisher: Visoka šola za politične vede, Visoka šola za politične vede, Visoka šola za sociologijo, politične vede in novinarstvo, Fakulteta za sociologijo, politične vede in novinarstvo, Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 763652

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Od platformnih delavcev do lastnikov

Abstract

Platformno delo je označeno z ekonomsko negotovostjo, nečloveškimi mehanizmi nadzora, izolacijo, poglabljanjem rasnih, ekonomskih in spolnih neenakosti ter z drugimi družbeno-ekonomskimi problemi. Kritiki vztrajajo glede potrebe po zmanjševanju negativnih družbenih posledic platformnega dela. Obstoječi članek povzame dve glavni ideji, tj. regulacijo platformnega dela in alternativo v zadružni organizaciji. Trdimo, da obstaja neraziskana komplementarna možnost, ki izkoristi t. i. mrežne učinke platformnega gospodarstva in zagotovi več dobrobiti za platformne delavce. Alternativa je vključevanje platformnih delavcev v solastništv

• Keywords: platformno gospodarstvo, platformni kooperativizem, delavski odkupi, platformni ESOP