7 research outputs found
Organising fragmented labour: the case of migrant workers at Helpling in Berlin
Research on collective organisation of migrant platform workers is mostly concerned with ride-hailing and delivery logistics, where explicit forms of collective action have been visible. This paper addresses the issue of the self-organisation of migrant workers on cleaning platforms through a case study of Helpling cleaners in Berlin. In the paper, we ask why the attempts for organising workers have failed to scale up beyond the informal exchange of information and tactics among the workers. Our article argues that the spatial dispersion of work across the city, lack of occupational identity, and the legal framework of work, make worker organising difficult for cleaners in Berlin. Still, these factors do not lead to an absence of collective practices. Helpling workers in our study gather in online groups, can receive help and exchange in a community centre, and have been in touch with political groups. Based on the case study, the article discusses potentials and hurdles for the development of collective counter-power.Peer Reviewe
Blackbox Verdrängung: Die vergessene Seite der Medaille: Rezension zu Ilse Helbrecht (Hg.) (2016): Gentrifizierung in Berlin – Verdrängungsprozesse und Bleibestrategien. Bielefeld: transcript.
Warum werden Menschen, die in Innenstadtgebieten Berlins wohnen, zunehmend aus ihrem Wohnort verdrängt? Wie reagieren sie auf den in der Stadt steigenden Verdrängungsdruck und wohin ziehen sie, nachdem der Verdrängungsprozess sich vollgezogen hat? Der im September 2016 erschienene Sammelband Gentrifizierung in Berlin. Verdrängungsprozesse und Bleibestrategien adressiert diese Fragen und liefert dabei einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Berliner Gentrifizierungsforschung
"Moving Forward, Heading North: Post-Crisis Migration of Young South Europeans to Berlin"
Bringing Movement into Class Analysis
Migration wird oft als soziales Problem dargestellt, das mit Benachteiligungen einhergeht. Allerdings hat die Migrationsforschung in den letzten Jahren gezeigt, dass Migration sich u.a. durch Klasse, Geschlecht und Ethnizität ausdifferenziert. Diese Studie fokussiert auf das Konzept der sozialen Klasse. Die Studie schlägt vor, Mobilität als Ressource zu betrachten, die in der Gesellschaft ungleichmäßig verteilt ist. Wie beeinflusst die soziale Klasse der Migrant_innen ihre räumliche Mobilität und die Art und Weise, wie sie mit Migrationsregimen interagieren? Wie beeinflusst ihre Mobilität die Prozesse von Klassenformation, in denen sie während der Migration involviert werden? Die Analyse erfolgt durch die Untersuchung der Migrationsgeschichten von jungen italienischen Migrant_innen, die seit 2008 nach Berlin zugewandert sind. Sie basiert auf einem Mix an Methoden, bzw. einer Online-Umfrage, 40 Interviews, drei Fokus-Gruppen und zahlreichen teilnehmenden Beobachtungen. Erstens untersucht der theoretische Teil die Entwicklung des Konzeptes der sozialen Klasse und deckt die Leerstellen der Klassenforschung auf. Zweitens wird im empirischen Teil den Zugang italienischer Migrant_innen zu Wohnen und Arbeit in Berlin untersucht. Schließlich beweist die Studie, dass das Regime der „freien“ EU-Binnenmigration wohl durch die Entstehung von Grenzen auf lokaler Ebene gekennzeichnet ist. Nach der Analyse scheint dieses Regime eher eine Lebensführung zu favorisieren, in der permanente Mobilisierung der eigenen Arbeitskraft notwendig ist. Die Studie bestätigt, dass Mobilität als Ressource zu betrachten ist, die zunehmend relevant für den Lebensunterhalt ist, und plädiert deshalb dafür, eine kritische Perspektive auf Migration zu entwickeln, die den Fokus auf die Frage nach der Kontrolle und Eigentum von Mobilität setzt.Migration has been studied for long time as a social problem, both for migrants and for sending and destination countries. However, research shows that migration has become increasingly differentiated along social, economic, gender and cultural lines. The present study unravels the concept of migration by introducing social class as a crucial intervening variable. It suggests considering mobility as an income-generating resource unevenly distributed across the population. How does the social class of migrants affect their mobility and the ways how it is incorporated into a migration regime? How is mobility related to processes of class formation in contemporary capitalism? The study focusses on the case of young Italian migrants who moved to Berlin after the economic crisis of 2008. Firstly, it tackles the rise, decline and renaissance of the class concept, showing the blind spots of class analysis. Secondly, the empirical part, based on a web survey, 40 interviews, 3 focus groups and several participant observations, explains how Italian migrants access resources in Berlin developing a life conduct predicated on mobility. The imperative to move spills over from the domain of spatial mobility into the domain of work, with the refusal of doing the same job “forever”, and into that of reproduction, with the construction of flexible forms of emotional engagement. The research highlights how newcomers enter processes of social differentiation on the housing and labor market. Endless mobilization of young labour force appears as the main policy goal for the governance of intra-EU migration. The analysis finally suggests considering mobility as a class-related resource, whose ownership and control should become a crucial issue for the understanding of contemporary societies
Platform urbanism: Labour, migration and the transformation of urban space
Der Beitrag analysiert, wie digitale Plattformen urbanes Arbeiten und Leben ebenso verändern wie die gelebte Räumlichkeit und die materielle Architektur der Stadt. Davon sind nicht nur Arbeitsverhältnisse berührt, sondern auch alltägliche Formen und Praktiken von Mobilität, Konsum oder Reproduktion. Basierend auf umfassenden ethnografischen Forschungen beschreiben wir erstens den Aufstieg der Plattformarbeit in Berlin, insbesondere am Beispiel von Uber, Deliveroo und Helpling. Wir nehmen neue Formen algorithmischer Organisation, Kontrolle und Überwachung von Arbeit im Stadtraum in den Blick und zeigen, dass Plattformarbeit primär migrantisch ist. Davon ausgehend skizzieren wir zweitens die Umrisse eines entstehenden Plattform-Urbanismus. Das umfasst sowohl ein Verständnis der Räume und Geografien digitaler Plattformen als auch eine theoretische Perspektivierung des Begriffs. Drittens betonen wir, dass kritische Analysen des emergenten Plattform-Urbanismus zeigen können, wie Plattformen darauf abzielen, unverzichtbare urbane Infrastrukturen zu werden. Allerdings zeigt sich, dass diese Infrastrukturwerdung urbaner Plattformen kein reibungsloser Prozess ist, sondern politisch und ökonomisch umkämpft.The contribution analyses how digital platforms transform labour and life just as well lived space and material architecture of the contemporary city. This concerns not only labour relations, but also everyday forms and practices of mobility, consumption or reproduction. Based on extensive ethnographic research, we describe, firstly, the rise of platform labour in Berlin, with a focus on Uber, Deliveroo and Helpling. We analyse new forms of algorithmic organization, control and measure of labour in urban space and describe platform labour as primarily migrant work. Secondly, we sketch the outlines of an emerging platform urbanism, which includes an understanding of the spaces and geographies of digital platforms as well as a theoretical perspectivation of the term. And thirdly, we emphasize that critical analyses of emerging platform urbanism can help to understand how platforms aim to become indispensable urban infrastructures. This infrastructural emergence of urban platforms is not a smooth process, however, but is politically and economically contested
Total Eclipse of Work? New forms of protest in the gig economy
Contemporary capitalism is characterized by the expansion of the digital economy, in which new forms of exploitation and of value creation are taking place. In particular, in the gig economy cheap labour is organized and managed via digital platforms. While new forms of protest are also spreading, there is a lack of research on the ways workers of this sector are organizing in order to face hyper-exploitation and precarity. We analyse the case of the Foodora workers in Turin, who have been organizing protests and a strike in the past months. While Italian unions are slow in facing the challenges brought by the transformation of work since the end of Fordism, these and other precarious workers have been developing innovative forms of protests, including a new form of strike, which is much more autonomous than the Fordist one. We highlight some aspects of the Foodora protest, in particular the re-appropriation of public space and the misuse of the means of production, which are turned into weapons against the employer. Finally, we look closer at the property of algorithms as a key issue for future struggles in the digital economy.Contemporary capitalism is characterized by the expansion of the digital economy, in which new forms of exploitation and of value creation are taking place. In particular, in the gig economy cheap labour is organized and managed via digital platforms. While new forms of protest are also spreading, there is a lack of research on the ways workers of this sector are organizing in order to face hyper-exploitation and precarity. We analyse the case of the Foodora workers in Turin, who have been organizing protests and a strike in the past months. While Italian unions are slow in facing the challenges brought by the transformation of work since the end of Fordism, these and other precarious workers have been developing innovative forms of protests, including a new form of strike, which is much more autonomous than the Fordist one. We highlight some aspects of the Foodora protest, in particular the re-appropriation of public space and the misuse of the means of production, which are turned into weapons against the employer. Finally, we look closer at the property of algorithms as a key issue for future struggles in the digital economy
PLUS.WP2 Qualitative analysis of platform labor in Berlin
This set contains materials from PLUS project field work analysis on platform labour in Berlin. In particular, there are qualitative interviews to Airbnb, Helpling and Uber workers. The same interviews have been coded with Nvivo software and analyzed. Moreover, a final focus group with platform workers had been organized to validate the results of the investigation. Due to Ethics&Privacy regulations applicable at the Leuphana University Lüneburg (for data collected until 31.03.2021) and at the Humboldt University of Berlin (for data collected from 01.04.2021), the set is under restrictions: data can be shared only with PLUS partners for the duration of the PLUS project (until 31.03.2022); from 01.04.2022 access allowed only for Berlin team members