🌎 Gig economy's new test

Plus: Amazon's unionization push faces Albany vote Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here]( [Quartz]( October 12, 2022 [View in browser]( Sponsored By Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know A proposed labor rule tests the US gig economy. A new standard to ensure companies don’t misclassify workers spooked investors in gig economy giants [like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash](. The IMF cut its 2023 global economic forecast. Growth is projected to [slow to 2.7%]( as the war in Ukraine, inflation, and covid recovery weigh on the world economy. Meta’s pricey new VR headset risks alienating gamers. The [$1,499 Meta Quest Pro]( is framed as a high-end solution for business users. Lego’s owner is buying US edtech firm BrainPOP. Denmark’s Kirkbi is making its first expansion into digital learning in the [$875 million]( deal. NASA claimed success in its unprecedented asteroid-thwarting mission. The spacecraft’s impact [slowed the orbit]( of asteroid Dimorphos by about 4%—more than expected. Fat Bear Week was rocked by a voting fraud scandal. Luckily, contest organizers spotted and threw out the spam votes, [delivering a win]( for Unnamed Bear 747 over Bear 435, Holly. Sponsor content by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Future of Progress. Tackling two of the greatest challenges of our time — a broken food system and gender inequality — present enormous opportunities to improve the lives of millions of people.[The 2022 Goalkeepers Report]( explains how the world can accelerate solutions to these problems with human ingenuity, innovation, political will, and sustained funding. [Learn more]( What to watch for With one win and one loss in the bag, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) is ready for its third shot at organizing employees at the world’s largest online retailer. Nearly 400 workers are set to cast ballots at Amazon’s Albany warehouse, dubbed “ALB1,” between Oct. 12 and Oct. 17. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will tally the votes on Oct. 18. The ALU is optimistic about prospects for the upstate New York facility because one of the leaders of the nationwide effort, Heather Goodall, [is an employee there](—a strategy that [worked successfully]( in the Staten Island warehouse that became the first to unionize earlier this year. After Albany, the unionization battle is moving west. Last month, a group of workers at Amazon warehouse ONT8 in Moreno Valley, California, began a union drive which could make the facility the first to unionize in the state, a key location for Amazon’s business. The future of K-pop band BTS hinges on conscription Photo: Getty Images(Kevin Winter) The K-pop septet and global sensation BTS is performing in Busan, South Korea, this Saturday (Oct. 15) in what some speculate could be their final show, at least for some time. The group announced it was going on hiatus in June of this year, but another circumstance is blurring its future: South Korea’s mandatory military service. One member of the group, Kim Seok-jin, has already delayed his service until the age of 30, but with a December birthday fast approaching, he will likely have to enlist soon. However, [exemption is a possibility](, and there may be an economic argument for it: [$3.6 billion:]( BTS’s worth to the South Korean economy each year [800,000:]( Tourists who visited South Korea in 2018 because of BTS, or over 7% of all visitors [$1.1 billion:]( Estimated value of South Korean exports related to BTS in 2018 Egypt’s entrepreneurs are turning to agri-tech As climate change impacts the balance sheets of many Egyptian farmers, a growing number of local tech startups are launching smartphone-based services to help them manage unpredictable weather and squeeze more profit from their diminishing crops. Agriculture-related apps accounted for less than 2% of the $446 million in venture capital funding Egypt saw in 2021. But the looming threats of climate change and food insecurity—plus the hype surrounding the COP27 climate summit, which will be hosted in Egypt in November—are causing more investors [to take a closer look](. ✦ Love stories like these? A Quartz membership helps keep in-depth, on-the-ground reporting like this free for all. Sign up today and [take 50% off]( when you do! Message from Our Partner Change is inevitable, but it can be hard to handle – A Slight Change of Plans can help. On the podcast, Dr. Maya Shankar blends storytelling with the science of human behavior to help us understand who we become in the face of change. Hear incredible stories from celebrities like Riz Ahmed and real-life inspirations like civil rights icon Ruby Bridges. [Listen now]( Quartz’s most popular ⛳️ [In Neom, Western executives have found their LIV golf league]( 🚴 [Peloton is trying to be everything, everywhere, all at once]( 🪧 [Nigerian universities’ eight-month strike is nearing its end]( ✌️ [Arianna Huffington on what the quiet quitting trend asks of employees and employers]( 🙄 [Don’t worry. Elon Musk will talk to antisemites on Twitter and express his concerns]( 🧠[World Mental Health Day: 5 actions companies can take]( Sponsor content by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Future of Progress. Tackling two of the greatest challenges of our time — a broken food system and gender inequality — present enormous opportunities to improve the lives of millions of people.[The 2022 Goalkeepers Report]( explains how the world can accelerate solutions to these problems with human ingenuity, innovation, political will, and sustained funding. [Learn more]( Surprising discoveries Haute couture was handed a cold property rights reminder. Jean Paul Gaultier [should’ve thought twice]( before sticking Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus on a t-shirt. Roller coasters can set off emergency calls on the new iPhone. Ohio police [were alerted]( after one amusement park-goer whipped around on “Mystic Timbers.” New Zealand plans to tax cow burps. The [cost-per-burp]( is TBD, but belch fees are slated to roll out in 2025. Meta’s metaverse is so meta-adverse it’s forcing staff to use it. An [internal memo]( asked employees to “make it their mission to fall in love with Horizon Worlds,” but so far the chemistry’s been lacking. National Fossil Day in the US falls on the same day as a fitting world holiday. There’s nothing quite like [celebrating old bones]( on [World Arthritis Day](. Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, amusement park tickets, and knee replacements to hi@qz.com. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—[become a member](. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Sofia Lotto Persio, Tim McDonnell, Morgan Haefner, Ananya Bhattacharya, and Julia Malleck. [🌐 View or share this email online.]( [📬 Check out our emails]( [👀 Read Quartz’s latest stories]( [📈 See what stories are trending]( 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104 © 2022 G/O Media Inc. [Unsubscribe](