Activism in the platform economy. Attitudes to collective action and unionism among activist workers

This article looks at attitudes to collective action and unionism among delivery riders working for digital platforms. The analysis is based on a survey carried out among workers active in two types of organization: an association and a union. The paper sheds light on the ambivalence of these workers with regard to the job of being a courier, activism and union action. The first part looks back at the delivery riders' social trajectories and the reasons for their involvement. The second part analyses the activist strategies and practices in relation to two major concerns for platform workers: social protection and income. The article concludes by observing a relative partiality for the job of delivery rider, giving rise to contrasting modalities of defending working conditions reflecting the heterogeneity and the evolution of this sector.