Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich has a few ideas on how to improve conditions and wages for workers in the "gig economy."

Reich, who served as labor secretary during the Clinton administration and has become a prominent voice for liberal economic solutions — including on behalf of Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign — is troubled by the gig economy, which he told Buzzfeed is both a "product and a cause" of income inequality and wage stagnation.

There are no shortage of Uber critics on the left, many of whom chide the company for evading or fighting safety regulations or paying their drivers low wages. Reich said he was unhappy, but not surprised, to learn that Uber drivers in three cities examined by the website made roughly $14 an hour, without accounting for maintenance and fuel costs.