State preemption and power: Regulating Uber and Lyft in Austin, Texas

Keywords: gig economy, labor markets, state power, regulation
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 31

Abstract

Uber and Lyft’s expansion to cities across the globe began over a decade ago. Since then, scholars have questioned gig company claims that gig work provides labor market flexibility, autonomy, and good supplemental income. Overwhelmingly studies indicate a grueling labor process, algorithmic control and pay that comes in below minimum wage. While initially gig work was considered as a new labor arrangement facilitate by app-based technology, scholars have begun to argue that this work instead represents an extension of casualized on-demand labor. Furthermore, studies show that gig firms function as ‘regulatory entrepreneurs’ that enter local markets with the intention of changing regulatory frameworks to fit their business model. What remains unclear is how and why these regulatory disruptions were so successful. This paper combines interviews and archival data to explore the regulatory process of Uber and Lyft in Austin, Texas. Uber and Lyft entered the city of Austin, battled with regulators over minor regulations for years, only to exit the market after a failed 8-million-dollar ballot campaign. Tapping into their networks of elite decision makers at the state level, Uber and Lyft successfully lobbied for statewide legislation enabling them to re-enter the Austin market with their preferred regulatory framework. In the Austin case, state level preemption has the dual function of expanding the authority of the state and remaking local labor markets. The Austin case demonstrates how the multi-scalar organization of regulatory authority enables firms to pull the levers of state power in ways that are advantageous to their interests.