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California Democrats are poised to pass landmark employment legislation over the objections of two of the companies that would be most affected: Silicon Valley ride-sharing giants Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc.
The bill already passed the State Assembly 59-15 and is expected to be voted on in the state Senate before the legislative session ends on Friday, possibly as soon as Monday night. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he would sign the bill, which intends to force companies that rely on “gig workers” to reclassify them as employees, likely upending the business model of those companies.
Uber and Lyft have spent much of the year pushing lawmakers to alter the bill or exempt them. That effort has failed against opposition from labor unions and a large Democratic majority in Sacramento. The companies have argued the bill would introduce new costs and logistical challenges that would be bad for them and many of their employees, who prefer job flexibility. If the measure becomes law, it is expected to have national repercussions given California’s economic importance and history of creating precedent-setting business regulations.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday September 11 2019, @01:35AM (2 children)
Uber's business model depends on them exploiting someone.
If they can't exploit the customers then they need to exploit the drivers because if they don't they have no unique selling point.
Where I live we deregulated our taxi industry 20 years ago, and it was a total shit-show for a couple of years as every man and his dog with a smoke-belching old wreck decided they were a taxi driver forcing the price down to the point where no-one made any money.
As soon as the unreliable and incompetent went out of business, the industry settled down. Taxis are cheap and plentiful, but the drivers can make a living.
That is the market Uber has try to compete in, and guess what? They can't. They not cheaper, the cars are not better and their App doesn't do anything the taxi companies apps don't do.
The last I heard they are really struggling to find drivers, so the service is not even that good anymore.
I guess that only leaves the shareholders left to exploit really and I'm not sure how they manage that while they lose $2 billion every year.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday September 11 2019, @05:24AM (1 child)
Zombies aren't really well-known for their car (or body) maintenance. Dogs, well ... I guess on Uber, nobody knows you're a dog.
Taxi companies have apps? This is news to me, I guess (at least in the US).
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Wednesday September 11 2019, @05:44AM
They do in Oz now as well as New Zombieland.
I would guess that was the best thing to come out of Uber. It forced the taxi companies to modernize and co-operate to provide a better service.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.