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Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

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Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#361

Post by wheelerwj »

santaclaus wrote: post #348
wheelerwj wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We have a pro-drinking culture at my company due to the nature of the business what? what possible nature of business are you in that makes drinking more (or less) acceptable. There is no such thing. at work, you work. if you want to get drunk, you aren't working.

> There is no such thing. Works at a bar or brewery? Wine related startup? Sales?

none of those are any more pro drinking on the job culture than any other job.

you still have work to do, and you probably still have colleagues whose time is valuable that aren't as big on drinking as you think they are.

drinking and having fun is great. at my company, if i wanted us all to drink, everyone got the afternoon off and we went out.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#362

Post by wengachang »

uber_031917 wrote: post #172

Uber employee here. This was a disheartening story to read to say the least. I hope that she sues as her case is abundantly clear and the response by HR and the management chain was absolutely unacceptable. If what happened is true, they should be held accountable. Unfortunately, from my perspective, Uber has a track record of lack of accountability when it comes to leadership/managers. Pretty much everyone I know at…

Hey beta, Don't apologize for some unknown hag. Get a hooker if you are so desperate.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#363

Post by st3v3r »

home_boi wrote: post #271
knucklesandwich wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech workers (across all disciplines) need to unionize to combat this kind of thing. As has been pointed out below, HR that is staffed and incentivized by the company management only serves the interests of the management. A union is the only structure that can actually win demands for workers by organizing workers to withhold their labor. It's not a panacea, and there are several historical examples of union leaders…

I'm of the opinion that the average software engineer in the USA is already overpaid and underworked with excellent benefits and low incentive to unionize. I'm simplifying it a bit but if you don't like your job, just grab a copy of Cracking the Coding Interview and apply to big companies. The big companies pay very well, have good benefits and interview everyone because of the need for a high head count

"I'm of the opinion that the average software engineer in the USA is already overpaid and underworked"

Given how much money these companies make directly off of our work, and given the prevalence of death marches across the industry, I cannot take this position seriously.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#364

Post by st3v3r »

home_boi wrote: post #271
knucklesandwich wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech workers (across all disciplines) need to unionize to combat this kind of thing. As has been pointed out below, HR that is staffed and incentivized by the company management only serves the interests of the management. A union is the only structure that can actually win demands for workers by organizing workers to withhold their labor. It's not a panacea, and there are several historical examples of union leaders…

I'm of the opinion that the average software engineer in the USA is already overpaid and underworked with excellent benefits and low incentive to unionize. I'm simplifying it a bit but if you don't like your job, just grab a copy of Cracking the Coding Interview and apply to big companies. The big companies pay very well, have good benefits and interview everyone because of the need for a high head count

"I'm of the opinion that the average software engineer in the USA is already overpaid and underworked"

Given how much money these companies make directly off of our work, and given the prevalence of death marches across the industry, I cannot take this position seriously.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#365

Post by polemic »

fullshark wrote: post #358
tptacek wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So don't swallow it! Spit it back out at them. Uber is entirely dependent on the goodwill of its engineers. They're irreplaceable. Uber's financial situation is such that they're absolutely required to execute. They cannot afford organized employee protests and will cave to them like an overripe grape trying to hold up a cinderblock. People like you could be running the table there. Why not hold them to account? What…

Golden handcuffs are called handcuffs for a reason.

Fools gold, pretty soon.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#366

Post by wengachang »

twblalock wrote: post #2

If you are sexually harassed, and HR doesn't do anything about it, you should sue. Don't expect HR to change. If the stories in this article are true, and if the evidence is as strong as the article says it is, this is a slam-dunk case for sexual harassment, hostile work environment, retaliation, etc.

Her story is bullshit. Typical attention whore. Didn't get a jacket. Report to HR. Something happened that she interpreted. Report to HR. If the story is credible why wait for ONE year. Either SUE publicly or post messages publicly.

I call bullshit. Pussy thirsty Betas on Hacker News will of course side with her.

I think she is doing for attention for her book.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#367

Post by st3v3r »

mariojv wrote: post #261
knucklesandwich wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech workers (across all disciplines) need to unionize to combat this kind of thing. As has been pointed out below, HR that is staffed and incentivized by the company management only serves the interests of the management. A union is the only structure that can actually win demands for workers by organizing workers to withhold their labor. It's not a panacea, and there are several historical examples of union leaders…

Are there any real efforts around this? A quick Google search doesn't show anything obvious. I'm also curious if there are any historical examples of "white collar" workers unionizing.

The Director's Guild, Writer's Guild, and Screen Actors Guild, along with the various professional athlete unions, would be good examples of how it could be done.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#369

Post by tyingq »

twblalock wrote: post #2

If you are sexually harassed, and HR doesn't do anything about it, you should sue. Don't expect HR to change. If the stories in this article are true, and if the evidence is as strong as the article says it is, this is a slam-dunk case for sexual harassment, hostile work environment, retaliation, etc.

Her choice to write about it might end up being a bigger incentive for change there than a lawsuit.

She tells the story quite well. Probably an ideal story for some journalist(s) to pick up and expand on.

Re: Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber

#370

Post by rstuart4133 »

m0zzie wrote: post #299
soneca wrote: post #167

In São Paulo, where I live, taxi apps appeared a couple of years before Uber entering the market. It took the market by storm, so every single cab had to be in at least one the two major apps (Easytaxi and 99taxi). It was easy, fast and safe to call a cab anytime. But it was still expensive. Uber came with its black cars. No one bothered. But Uber came with UberX and then Uber pool. It was a revolution, 50% cheaper.…

We are seeing the exact same thing here in Australia. An app called GoCatch which was a taxis-only app for around 5 years but moved into the ride share market last year. It used to be very difficult to get one of their cars in Sydney, but now I can get one most times I try. Many people seem to like the idea of a locally-owned company versus the tax-dodging (in their eyes) juggernaut from overseas.

So GoCatch works well now? I must give it another go. There is very little price difference between Taxi's and Uber here, and recently the Taxi companies have changed their tune from "it's all so unfair" to "we can and will adapt and compete". Interesting times ...
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