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posted by martyb on Friday August 30 2019, @03:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the what's-good-for-the-goose-is-good-for-the-gander dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The battle over how to classify ride-hail drivers in California has intensified, with neither side backing down. After a caravan of drivers protested across the state earlier this week, Uber and Lyft began widely circulating online petitions on Wednesday. The companies' goal: Get people to join them in defeating Assembly Bill 5 as it's currently written before it becomes law.

If passed, the California state bill could allow for ride-hail drivers to be classified as employees rather than independent contractors, their current status.

"AB 5 may lead to hundreds of thousands of California Lyft drivers out of work," Lyft's petition reads. "As a result, passengers could wait longer for rides or risk losing reliable access to rideshare altogether."

Uber issued similar warnings in its petition and said, "Forcing all drivers to become employees could drastically change the rideshare experience as you've come to know it, and would limit Uber's ability to connect you with the dependable rides you've come to expect."

Uber and Lyft drivers are now classified as independent contractors, sometimes referred to as gig-workers, which means they don't get benefits including Social Security, health insurance, paid sick days and overtime. Many drivers say this system has led to exploitation. They say they've seen lower pay, higher costs and longer working hours as the cost of living has risen over the years.

Advocates for AB 5 call the ride-hailing companies' petitions a "misinformation campaign" and "dishonest." Mobile Workers Alliance and Gig Workers Rising, which have been organizing drivers around AB 5, say the bill is about workers' rights.

"Both of these companies are doing what looks like a very desperate last-ditch effort to try to get their customer base to go against drivers' rights," said Coral Itzcalli, spokeswoman for Mobile Workers Alliance. "The scheme of independent contractors is what companies have used for decades. What it does is saddle the cost of the business on the average worker."

[...] As an alternative to the bill, Uber said Wednesday that it would offer drivers a minimum wage of approximately $21 per hour. It also said it would offer access to benefits, such as paid time off, sick leave and compensation if injured while driving for the company. Additionally, Uber said it would let drivers have a "collective voice" at the company and the "ability to influence decisions about their work."

Lyft hasn't offered specifics, but it did say it'll give drivers a guaranteed earnings floor, a portable benefits fund and representation within the company.

Mobile Workers Alliance and Gig Workers Rising say $21 per hour isn't enough, however. As independent contractors, drivers have to cover all of their own expenses, including gas, car maintenance and repairs.

"It's not acceptable," said Leonardo Diaz, who's been driving for Uber and Lyft full-time for the last four years. "We are asking for $30 an hour to cover all the expenses."

Itzcalli from Mobile Workers Alliance agreed and said the ride-hailing companies' alternatives to AB 5 don't do enough to fulfill workers' rights.

"These companies tout themselves as being innovative and creating the jobs of tomorrow," she said. "But the reality is there is nothing innovative about worker exploitation."


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Friday August 30 2019, @04:48PM (6 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 30 2019, @04:48PM (#887823) Journal

    I depend heavily on gas stations that supply gasoline for my ICE-powered SUV. So - all the people who work in gas stations should work for less than half of minimum fucking wage for my convenience?

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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday August 30 2019, @04:56PM (3 children)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Friday August 30 2019, @04:56PM (#887831)

    all the people who work in gas stations should work for less than half of minimum fucking wage for my convenience?

    Um... around here they're at flat minimum with zero chance for advancement, it's one of the shittiest jobs available - but... I guess the overall money is better than driving for Uber or selling Amway.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Friday August 30 2019, @05:07PM (2 children)

      by Thexalon (636) on Friday August 30 2019, @05:07PM (#887834)

      I guess the overall money is better than driving for Uber or selling Amway.

      As sad as it is to say it, yes, it is.
      - Amway, like most MLM's, will cost you more than you make unless you're one of the earliest suckers. The pay for selling Amway, Herbalife, etc is less than zero for almost everybody involved.

      - Driving for a ride-sharing company looks better, until you factor in self-employment tax, income tax, depreciation on the vehicle, and the costs of owning a vehicle if driving for ride-shares is the only reason you own it. Plus, of course, you can't do this job unless you own a car that doesn't look like a complete POS, which most gas station attendants don't because it's not like you can afford a good car on $7.25 an hour.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
      • (Score: 3, Informative) by JoeMerchant on Friday August 30 2019, @06:24PM (1 child)

        by JoeMerchant (3937) on Friday August 30 2019, @06:24PM (#887849)

        Just like when I washed dishes and made sandwiches for $3.35 per hour, along with all my other suburban high school comrades... driving mom's Mercedes to the job. In some ways, it's "work experience" and to an extent, you get what you pay for with part time high schoolers - but, all too often I see people in their 40s and 50s working those shit jobs today. It's not like the American public is starving to death and needs cheaper Big Macs.

        As for losers who depend on Uber to get around and can't afford to bear the true costs of transportation, maybe they should look into their local public transit buses - around here, if you are disabled, or old, or just have the balls to call them and say you need a ride, the public transit shuttles do door-to-door for less than the cost of an Uber, subsidized by your local taxes, of course, just like your Uber driver is when he ends up in the hospital without insurance.

        --
        🌻🌻 [google.com]
        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Thexalon on Friday August 30 2019, @08:54PM

          by Thexalon (636) on Friday August 30 2019, @08:54PM (#887921)

          Just like when I washed dishes and made sandwiches for $3.35 per hour, along with all my other suburban high school comrades... driving mom's Mercedes to the job.

          And there are 2 aspects of this that are misleading:
          1. Extrapolating that experience to the people whose moms have never even come close to having a Mercedes and are struggling to pay rent, eat, pay utility bills, and buy clothes, and have always gotten around on public transit or on foot. Or, alternately, people who are that mom, who are far more common in the minimum wage job market than suburban high school kids: If you can't get another job, this is the kind of thing you're doing.

          2. Ignoring that $3.35 per hour you got paid in the 1980's is $8.00 in today's dollars, and the wages we're talking about are lower than that.

          And those people in their 40's, 50's, or older? At least where I am, those people used to be working in factories making much higher wages, often thanks to a union. Now that the factories have all closed and moved offshore, they're working these awful jobs because it's what they can get and they're trying to keep their homes and families intact. If you get to know these folks, it's hard not to sympathize: For example, I knew one guy who had been in auto parts manufacturing, worked his way up to senior foreman over 40 years, and he was stocking shelves at a grocery store because he needed the health insurance - his former employer had conveniently gotten out of paying both the pension and health insurance he was owed when they closed the factory.

          For those who think minimum wage is supposed to be a starter wage for high school kids getting their first job experience, no it isn't. Franklin Roosevelt was extremely clear about that when he pushed through the concept of a minimum wage back in the 1930's: It was supposed to be enough for an adult to support themselves and a kid or two.

          --
          The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
  • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday August 30 2019, @05:15PM (1 child)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Friday August 30 2019, @05:15PM (#887839) Homepage

    SUV? Hahahaha, what are you, man? Some kind of soccer-mom? I drive a basic-bitch Nissan car but if I went big I'd get an extended-cab Chevy or GMC truck. SUVs are the worst of both worlds and unsafe as fuck.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Friday August 30 2019, @05:29PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 30 2019, @05:29PM (#887842) Journal

      Whatever. I've mentioned elsewhere that I liked some station wagons, when they were still a thing. A few of these cars on truck frames are cool. The Trailblazer is handy for a lot of things, and it's a fairly stable platform with which to pull a trailer. Try pulling a couple tons of stuff on your basic bitch Nissan. I've also mentioned that the Trailblazer gets right at 20 mpg. Not as good as some little cars, but better than most trucks.