Uber CEO Calls For 'Benefits Funds' for Gig Workers

[the cac mamba]

Because you can’t treat independent contractors like employees and not pay benefits and collect payroll taxes

Uber was fukked before this anyway

how do they do that again? im not arguing with you, i dont see it in the thread

if you can turn your job on and off, literally down to whatever minute you feel like, then at the end of the day you're a contractor it seems impossible to classify them otherwise

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

btw, i also don't agree that drivers should be considered employees. they chose to make money driving their car, uber simply matches them with people wanting to ride in a car. they already made the concession for drivers to set prices and have more control over accepting/rejecting rides, not sure what else they're supposed to do. maybe create a benefit package drivers can buy into if they drive 30+ hours/week, but they're not FTE anymore than a host is a FTE of airbnb

 

[CrimsonTider]

how do they do that again? im not arguing with you, i dont see it in the thread

if you can turn your job on and off, literally down to whatever minute you feel like, then at the end of the day you're a contractor it seems impossible to classify them otherwise

Per labor laws you can’t really have independent contractors doing work that’s core to your business model for a prolonged period of time.

To government it looks like you’re trying to cheat the employees out of benefits( health care, workers comp, 401k, etc)

It also looks like you’re trying to cheat the government out of payroll taxes

Uber and Lyft’s argument is that they're a tech company and the drivers aren’t core to their business. They have 10,000 employees that are mostly engineers that are employees. They’re business is to maintain an app.

The government says that they are a taxis company and the 3 million drivers are core to their business and the engineers support the drivers with the app

 

[Consigliere]

Per labor laws you can’t really have independent contractors doing work that’s core to your business model for a prolonged period of time.

To government it looks like you’re trying to cheat the employees out of benefits( health care, workers comp, 401k, etc)

It also looks like you’re trying to cheat the government out of payroll taxes

Uber and Lyft’s argument is that they're a tech company and the drivers aren’t core to their business. They have 10,000 employees that are mostly engineers that are employees. They’re business is to maintain an app.

The government says that they are a taxis company and the 3 million drivers are core to their business and the engineers support the drivers with the app

Exactly. And the reason the government should intervene is because this will the precedent of how tech companies gut our industries, replace us with automated workers and deplete our tax base all while asking for handouts or shifting the burden to the tax payer.

If Uber fails the reality is that nothing of any real value is lost.

 

[DEAD7]

Uber may shut down in California if forced to classify drivers as employees, CEO says

If Uber fails the reality is that nothing of any real value is lost.

Consumers lose and those workers go from low pay to zero pay

 

[Cynic]

Consumers lose and those workers go from low pay to zero pay

VC firms lose... f*ck Vulture Capital

 

[Atlrocafella]

Uber/LYFT is going to leave Cali and the yellow taxi cabs will make their triumphant return.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Uber/LYFT is going to leave Cali and the yellow taxi cabs will make their triumphant return.

taxi wasn't ever a thing out here, maybe SF, but LA and the rest of the Bay never had big taxi usage like the east coast or chicago. Uber definitely helped bridge the gap of our shytty public trans that closes at midnight, stations are far apart and don't cover the south or east bay. if/when bars open back up and there's no uber/lyft, DUI's bout to be poppin

 

[NZA]

M4A would be nice

 

[the cac mamba]

If Uber fails the reality is that nothing of any real value is lost.

uber became an integral part of life around the country, tourism/travel, and prevents countless numbers of drunk drivers. what kinda hot take is this

 

[Serious]

M4A would be nice

Real talk I’m listening to trump bash Kamala yesterday in disbelief dude, was like she wants socialized medicine, and you know I just thought to myself there’s millions of Americans unemployed and we know that access to medicine is largely determined by your employer, and this idiot has the balls to bash universal health care like it’s a bad thing at this moment in time, especially during a fukking pandemic

 

[Consigliere]

uber became an integral part of life around the country, tourism/travel, and prevents countless numbers of drunk drivers. what kinda hot take is this

Yeah... it’s called cab service.

I know its wild that people could actually pay for the full cost of the service they are using at the time. Much better to create shareholder value for banks and PE through the destruction of the economy while exploiting the poor.

 

[Consigliere]

Consumers lose and those workers go from low pay to zero pay

The reality of economic conditions needs to be confronted eventually.

We will not gig work or temp work out way out of this.

Why should we pretend it’s not already an issue while propping up shareholder value for PE?

 

[the cac mamba]

Yeah... it’s called cab service.

I know its wild that people could actually pay for the full cost of the service they are using at the time. Much better to create shareholder value for banks and PE through the destruction of the economy while exploiting the poor.

cabs didnt cover as well. uber = cab stand everywhere

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Yeah... it’s called cab service.

I know its wild that people could actually pay for the full cost of the service they are using at the time. Much better to create shareholder value for banks and PE through the destruction of the economy while exploiting the poor.

cab service isn't some altruistic industry either - from exploration of drivers via the cost of medallions, to racism in the people they choose not to pick up, to them not servicing certain neighborhoods, etc. furthermore, most places don't have a robust cab industry. i've never in my life hailed a cab in oakland - an actual city, they aint just driving up and down the street like they do in NYC, and i could only imagine the inability to get one in small town USA or the suburbs. uber definitely met a market need.

uber is a marketplace that matches drivers to riders, Uber already let CA drivers set their rates as a way to give them more autonomy (ie act as a real contractor), they're no different than thumbtack that connects repair people with homeowners, airbnb that connects hosts and guests, upwork that connects workers with companies. it's silly to demand their (along with lyft, doordash, etc) drivers be employees when none of these other marketplace platforms are being asked to do the same