Last Friday, a throng of around 150 couriers for the online food delivery company Deliveroo massed on a street in central London, shouting together at a management that went from smug to terrified in seventy-two hours.

During a sit-down discussion the most recent offer from management — the second in three days — was unanimously rejected. They’d already told one manager what they think of the company.

Having organized face-to-face and via WhatsApp — something of a double-edged sword, all these smart phones — and without initial union support, the striking workers are now demanding a London living wage. Deliveroo’s business model of short-termism, “flexibility,” and encouraging competition among workers is under attack. Why?