9 book recommendations to better understand Question 3

Want to better understand Question 3? These booksellers share recommendations to help you get informed on allowing rideshare drivers to unionize.

This November, Massachusetts residents will vote on five ballot questions and make important decisions on psychedelics, MCAS testing, allowing rideshare drivers to unionize, and more.

To better understand the ballot questions, we asked booksellers what to read to be a more informed voter at the ballot box.

Among these questions is Question 3: Unionization for Transportation Network Drivers.

If approved, Question 3 would allow rideshare drivers to form unions and to collectively bargain with companies like Uber and Lyft. In June, the state settled with the two companies to ensure drivers earn $32.50 minimum per hour and receive other benefits.

The goal of the ballot question is essentially to improve the welfare of rideshare drivers, according to a petition for the law.

“These persons often suffer poor pay, inadequate health coverage, and irregular or inadequate working hours. It is hereby declared that the best interests of the commonwealth are served by providing transportation network drivers the opportunity to self-organize and designate representatives of their own choosing, and to bargain collectively in order to obtain sustainable wages, benefits and working conditions, subject to approval and ongoing supervision by the commonwealth,” the petition reads.

Below, find book recommendations on Question 3 from Sanj Kharbanda, the associate publisher of Beacon Press – the oldest publisher still operating in Boston – and from booksellers at Porter Square Books.

“‘Drive’ is a compelling blend of honesty and sardonic wit that invites readers into Jonathan’s car to reveal the harsh reality of gig work for so many: grueling hours, living paycheck to paycheck, and hoping to avoid disaster long enough to prepare for the next bill. And by the way, this is someone who spends his days working as a crime intelligence analyst but after divorce was struggling to pay rent and care for his son, so he needed to augment income.” – Sanj Kharbanda, Beacon Press

“They’re Bankrupting Us!” by Bill Fletcher, Jr.

“From Wisconsin to Washington, DC, the claims are made: unions are responsible for budget deficits, and their members are overpaid and enjoy cushy benefits. The only way to save the American economy, pundits claim, is to weaken the labor movement, strip workers of collective bargaining rights, and champion private industry. In ‘They’re Bankrupting Us!’: And 20 Other Myths about Unions, labor leader Bill Fletcher Jr. makes sense of this debate as he unpacks the twenty-one myths most often cited by anti-union propagandists.” – Sanj Kharbanda, Beacon Press

“Household Workers Unite” by Premilla Nadasen

“With compelling personal stories of the leaders and participants on the front lines, ‘Household Workers Unite’ gives voice to the poor women of color whose dedicated struggle for higher wages, better working conditions, and respect on the job created a sustained political movement that endures today.” – Sanj Kharbanda, Beacon Press

“The Art of Statistics: How to Learn from Data” by David Spiegelhalter

“Both sides of every issue will try to convince you with statistics. In a world of misinformation and manipulation, understanding data (and knowing when it’s lying to you) is more important than ever. David Spiegelhalter uses real world examples of murder, incompetence, and hyperbole to explain the mundane in new and engaging ways.” – Miles Kendrick, bookseller, Porter Square Books

“Democratizing the Corporation: The Bicameral Firm and Beyond” by Isabelle Ferreras, Tom Malleson, and Joel Rogers

“Corporations are the primary actors in our economy. As we consider how the corporations that run rideshare apps should relate to their drivers, we could also consider how corporations in general should be structured.” – Josh Cook, bookseller and co-owner, Porter Square Books

“Along with being a question about labor organizing, Question 3 is about the role that tech platforms play in shaping our society both on and offline. In ‘Techlash,’ Tom Wheeler connects the experiences of the late 19th century’s industrial Gilded Age with its echoes in the 21st-century digital Gilded Age. In both cases, technological innovation and the great wealth that it created ran up against the public interest and the rights of others.” – Josh Cook, bookseller and co-owner, Porter Square Books

“Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor” by Kim Kelly

“This revelatory and inclusive book ‘unearths the stories of the people – farm laborers, domestic workers, factory employees – behind some of the labor movement’s biggest successes’ (The New York Times) from independent journalist and Teen Vogue labor columnist Kim Kelly.” – Josh Cook, bookseller and co-owner, Porter Square Books

“A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy” by Jane McAlevey

“America has been having a conversation about the value of unions for well over a century, so the question of rideshare drivers unionizing has a long historic context. ‘Fight Like Hell’ and ‘A Collective Bargain’ help provide that context.” – Katherine Navarro and Josh Cook, booksellers, Porter Square Books

“Hustle and Gig: Struggling and Surviving in the Sharing Economy” by Alexandrea J. Ravenelle

“Rideshare apps are a core part of what has become our ‘gig’ economy, where many people make a living (or don’t) by juggling a handful of part time and irregular employment. The question of rideshare unionizing can’t be answered without considering the gig economy in general. In ‘Hustle and Gig,’ Alexandrea J. Ravenelle shares the personal stories of nearly eighty predominantly millennial workers from Airbnb, Uber, TaskRabbit, and Kitchensurfing. Their stories underline the volatility of working in the gig economy: the autonomy these young workers expected has been usurped by the need to maintain algorithm-approved acceptance and response rates.” – Katherine Navarro, bookseller, Porter Square Books