Udayan Tandon

I’m a Ph.D. student at the University of California, San Diego, in the Design Lab, and I’m involved with the United Taxi Cooperative and United Taxi Workers of San Diego. At the heart of cooperative principles is the goal of enhancing worker participation and empowerment within their own workplaces. In today’s digital economy, where there is a significant imbalance and exploitation of workers, these principles are crucial. They help restore the workers’ voice, enabling them to control the tools they use daily and ensuring a fairer digital economy. While cooperatives are just one of many strategies—including unions, worker advocacy coalitions, and policy think tanks—they are vital for enabling workers to build and sustain power in the pursuit of a just digital economy.