71–80 of 781 posts
If this is the case, I think Lyft will die very quickly because as far as I know, most drivers prefer Uber over Lyft.
It strikes me that these articles are always biased in the direction of the benefits of being an employee. I have several friends that actively choose to be contractors because they prefer the (legally protected) flexibility to decide their own hours, among other things. It's a personal decision, and there are upsides and downsides in both directions. Sure - some (non-insignificant) portion of Uber and Lyft drivers w…
Some things, like not being able to set their own rates, meant drivers were never contractors, even if they wanted the perks of contracting (e.g, choose your own hours). Saying 'I wish to be a contractor' isn't legally sufficient: the agreement needs to permit setting rates.
It just feels like forcing everyone to be an employee will box out a large number of happy part-time drivers who weren't too concerned with setting their own rates.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>They certainly can offer flexible hours to full time employees They can't guarantee flexibility and full-time employment. That's the point. >"Americans shalt work from nine until five so sayeth we the founders". If there is no demand or there is over-supply at some particular time in some particular area, you can't will a job into existence. >They're just griping that they need to start paying benefits. Are they gri…
They are both just placeholders until we have robotaxi networks. 5-10 years max.
It strikes me that these articles are always biased in the direction of the benefits of being an employee. I have several friends that actively choose to be contractors because they prefer the (legally protected) flexibility to decide their own hours, among other things. It's a personal decision, and there are upsides and downsides in both directions. Sure - some (non-insignificant) portion of Uber and Lyft drivers w…
I was a 1099 contractor for several years and couldn't agree more. It drove me nuts when I'd read articles like this, since I had made a conscious choice not to be an employee, for all of the pros and cons that implies.
I work as a 1099 contractor under my own LLC consulting business. This is valid under CA law. The law is meant to protect people who are unfairly classified as contractors outside of a trade.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think Uber & Lyft are just using flexible hours as a red-herring. They certainly can offer flexible hours to full time employees - no where does it say "Americans shalt work from nine until five so sayeth we the founders". They're just griping that they need to start paying benefits.
>They certainly can offer flexible hours to full time employees - no where does it say "Americans shalt work from nine until five so sayeth we the founders". I don't think you understand how a business like this works. For a customer serving business, they need to make sure they are staffed appropriately. Would it make sense for a restaurant to offer all of their staffs "flexible hours"? Is it ok for the waiter to sh…
Uber isn't against this because it would make it impossible to run their business, they're against this because they're being forced to pay into things like unemployment which will make it more difficult for them to be profitable.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some things, like not being able to set their own rates, meant drivers were never contractors, even if they wanted the perks of contracting (e.g, choose your own hours). Saying 'I wish to be a contractor' isn't legally sufficient: the agreement needs to permit setting rates.
Uber can say that drivers can set their own rates but they can only afford certain rate. Wouldn't this work?
Edit - Or allow customers to set the rate, and again take a cut of whatever that was.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
They do, though. https://help.uber.com/driving-and-delivering/article/what-ar... https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013077708-Accepta...
His point is that Uber and Lyft are not like normal gig platforms because of this.
https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/Dasher-Ratings-E...
https://driver-support.grubhub.com/hc/en-us/articles/3600298...
https://taskers.taskrabbit.com/2018/06/01/acceptance-rate-wh...
This is an example of regulation getting in the way of innovation again. It’s like they want the medallion taxi system again.
This is an example of regulation getting in the way of innovation... If by innovation you mean the abuse of people forced to work in the "gig" economy, then sure.
Leave it to California to stick it to a company losing $7 billion per year trying to find its footing. Drivers are voluntarily entering into the current work arrangement. Why does the government need to have an opinion on the matter?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the core issue as to why employeeship is favored is that those folks that want the freedom of contracting have more personal power and are less disadvantaged compared to the employer. If you are choosing to favor the flexibility of your own hours over other work benefits then you have a much more secure source of income than a lot of working Americans. I think that ensuring that those poorest off have the abi…
Then that is for the government to provide, not for a company to provide.
I'd love to see the US government actually step up to the healthcare plate though - especially after so many years of terrible FDA & Dept. of Edu. policies have led to widespread obesity. Personal responsibility doesn't really work as an excuse when your entire country is an outrageous outlier compared to the rest of the world - that seems more systemic.