The uberization of the working class

a dive into the past, an analysis of the present and a glance to the future

Abstract

This article was prepared based on the results of the course conclusion work developed for the History Degree course at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Goiás entitled “Free workers like birds? : A case study of the app delivery drivers’ strike in 2020/2021 and the formation of a new working class in the face of the experience of precariousness”. The initial objective was to carry out an introductory analysis of the new capitalist model of flexible accumulation, understanding neoliberal hegemony and the impact on the world of work, with the emergence of forms of precarious employment and the intensification of the exploitation of subjects taking on new contours with the digital and informational technologies. The focus is to permeate the movements that took place during the pandemic period called “breaks” of applications, various mobilizations of platformed workers seeking regulation, working conditions and minimum rights for the category. Finally, using the concept of class proposed by E.P Thompson, analyze whether it is possible to understand this movement as a precipitation of the formation of a new working class, given the collective experience of precariousness and exploitation.