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Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

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Re: Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

#431
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I'm #deletingUber to show how anti-Trump I am!" uses Peter Thiel backed Lyft instead funny thing is, Trump supporters are now deleting Lyft in favor of uber. nobody does an ounce of research anymore.

>nobody does an ounce of research anymore This is true of the vast majority of activists in any political cause. Most join as social signaling to their community that they are "one of them". Case in point, almost nobody interviewed for occupy Wallstreet could even agree on what the goal of the group was. Particularly in this case, showing support is literally as simple as installing an app that does almost the exact…

When so many horrible things are happening, it's difficult for thoughtful people to agree on exactly which one is the most important.

Re: Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

#432
post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If anything, I think people assign too much weight to "sending a message" or "taking a stance." Thiel backed both Trump and Lyft! Down with Lyft! Uber wouldn't go along with some strike! Disavow! YC works with a Trump supporter! Fire him! Apparently the latest outrage on Twitter is over Elon Musk's condemnation of Trump's order not being tough enough. They're mad at him for trying to convince Trump to modify his prop…

There is real risk when business mingle with politics. Both Musk and Uber should consider this before working with Trump. Thiel will be forever marked as Trump supporter and he saw it coming. As for your suggestion to work with bounds of reality it should apply to Trump. If he want to change immigration policy he can work with Congress to pass laws and regulations. His flashy actions are just for his silly supporters…

Business is politics. Lobbying is rampant and everywhere. When you set wages or try to destroy organized labor that's political. Everything you do when you exercise the power you have as a businessman is a political action.

Re: Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

#433
post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you can't have it both ways. Either: a) You expect Uber/Lyft to take part in your strike, in which case you are impeding travel, or b) You don't expect Uber/Lyft to take part, in which case no one should be coming down so hard on them for "breaking the strike". I think it's great that NY Taxi gave their immigrant employees time to participate in the protests, but, they could have... y'know... just done that . N…

I never claimed to hold either of those positions. Personally I think it's great that the taxi drivers of NY could display solidarity in this issue with the detained immigrants and their contempt for this clusterfuck of an Excecute Order. But I will not engage you in trying to collapse this argument into a squabble over trivial details. To echo another reply: You don't understand protest. The words in MLKs "Letter fr…

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Re: Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

#434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber broke the strike by breaking the strike. This absurd focus on whether surge pricing was a multiplier or disincentive is a complete distraction. The taxi drivers reached out and asked Uber for solidarity. They dispatched drivers to break the strike. They made their bed in the court of public opinion, now they can lie in it.

Uber is a company, it is not organized in a union. I would never expect them to participate in a strike and effectively order their drivers to stop working. Just like a taxicab company doesn't participate in the strike, but the drivers do. This is like if Coca Cola workers went on strike, and problem blamed Pespi Co of breaking strike by not sending their workers home??

No company can be expected to behave morally? Is that what you are arguing?

Re: Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

#435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are a company, sure. But the citizens vote with their wallets, and are clearly making a choice for the type of company they prefer. Maybe that means most people in New York prefer a company which cooperates with their local unions.

Did Lyft cooperate with their local unions?

Here is the letter they wrote for their blog:

>We created Lyft to be a model for the type of community we want our world to be: diverse, inclusive, and safe.

>This weekend, Trump closed the country's borders to refugees, immigrants, and even documented residents from around the world based on their country of origin. Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values. We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community.

>We know this directly impacts many of our community members, their families, and friends. We stand with you, and are donating $1,000,000 over the next four years to the ACLU to defend our constitution. We ask that you continue to be there for each other - and together, continue proving the power of community.

I notice that it diplomatically does not answer your question, only that it will donate for the cause. So I guess it depends on what you mean by "cooperate." They certainly didn't order their workers to strike (which would be dumb of them anyway.)

Re: Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

#436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber is a company, it is not organized in a union. I would never expect them to participate in a strike and effectively order their drivers to stop working. Just like a taxicab company doesn't participate in the strike, but the drivers do. This is like if Coca Cola workers went on strike, and problem blamed Pespi Co of breaking strike by not sending their workers home??

This wasn't a strike, it was a political protest. By not participating, Uber naturally made enemies among a group of people with a tendency to boycott everyone they disagree with. (I'm not taking sides here, just pointing out that this was a predictable outcome.)

>This wasn't a strike, it was a political protest.

What's the difference??

Re: Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

#437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It absolutely is. This doesn't make scabbing any less vile, however. All it has guaranteed in this instance is that a bunch of hapless Uber drivers are going to be feeling the backlash. Friends don't let friends scab.

>This doesn't make scabbing any less vile This is a political opinion, and the context definitely matters. This wasn't a strike for higher wages, this was a strike to back a political stance. How would you feel if the cabbies went on strike because we allow Muslims to vote? Would you so vehemently blast people that want transportation to continue functioning in the interim in that case as well?

It wasn't a strike for higher wages, it was a strike to stop being banned from the country.

Strikes are always political. The point of a strike is to say "you need us" and a HUGE proportion of taxi drivers are Muslim. Their family, friends, the people who keep their family and friends safe risking their lives helping the US military in their home countries were all screwed by this.

They wanted to strike to say 'if you ban Muslims, it doesn't JUST mean the US is now run by weak cowards. It means you won't be able to find a taxi because we won't help you. You need us'. The goal was that plenty of Trump supporters missed their flights because of it and had to think about it -- the services they rely on are run by the people they are attacking. Not sure it happened, but at least they tried.

Re: Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

#438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"there is no ethical consumption under capitailism." Imagine there was a competitor to Uber and Lyft that was owned by the drivers themselves in the form of a cooperative, so that any new drivers would have equal say in the direction the service took. Would that not be more ethical than Uber and Lyft?

How do you know it's more ethical before knowing the actual decisions made?

Depends on your definition of ethics, but it's very likely to be more democratically run and have smaller wage inequality.

Re: Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

#439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber is a company, it is not organized in a union. I would never expect them to participate in a strike and effectively order their drivers to stop working. Just like a taxicab company doesn't participate in the strike, but the drivers do. This is like if Coca Cola workers went on strike, and problem blamed Pespi Co of breaking strike by not sending their workers home??

No company can be expected to behave morally? Is that what you are arguing?

Actually, no they cannot. It has been proven time and time again that most companies will behave only in ways that benefit its stakeholders. Sometimes, that happens to align with public or moral good. However, our only expectation should be that companies make decisions and take actions within the parameters prescribed by regulators. Anything they do beyond that is either a violation, and should be punished, or a secondary, unexpected benefit.

Re: Lyft surges to the top 10 on App Store following the “DeleteUber” campaign

#440
post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This wasn't a strike, it was a political protest. By not participating, Uber naturally made enemies among a group of people with a tendency to boycott everyone they disagree with. (I'm not taking sides here, just pointing out that this was a predictable outcome.)

>This wasn't a strike, it was a political protest. What's the difference??

I think we could all agree by calling it a work-stoppage. To me they're basically all the same but a strike is generally a work stoppage intended to force management to in some way improve the employment environment whereas a political protest can and usually is directed outwards and occurs for any number of reasons.
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