Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California • Hacker News Board

Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

#141

Post by jamesliudotcc » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:45 PM UTC

I mean, consider the alternative, which is how taxis used to work. Investors like Gene Friedman would own fleets of medallions, and drivers would rent the medallioned cars. Or drivers would own their own medallion. Definitely, for sure, the drivers were not employees.

One big difference was that there were no big public companies to sue. In Chicago, clever class action lawyers tried suing the city, since they set all of the standards that are the basis of the employee/contractor distinction. It got up to the 7th Circuit, where Posner wrote an an opinion that went basically "uh, no."

Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

#142

Post by r29vzg2 » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:45 PM UTC

XMPPwocky wrote: post #44

merpnderp wrote: post #9

Want to be free to have a random part-time gig you can pick up whenever you want? Nope, do-gooders are going to do-good you into a wage slave job like everyone else.

Tragically, the state has also taken away my right to sell my kidneys for money, just trying to "protect" me. I'm an adult, if I want the money isn't it strictly better than I have the freedom to cash in on my human resources?

You’ll be surprised by the answers to this on HN.

Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

#143

Post by ghaff » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:45 PM UTC

maxk42 wrote: post #65

thruhiker wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also remember the extremely poor customer service provided by taxi cabs. Dirty cars, rude drivers who acted as if they were doing you a favor instead of engaging in a business transaction. The taxi cartels are no better than Uber and Lyft corporations for sure.

Let's not forget the outrageous prices.

Right. Because taxis don't typically operate at a loss. Whether it's laws like the ones in California or it's just Uber and Lyft having to be profitable, I have little doubt that you'll see large price increases. I actually don't really understand why they haven't just bitten the bullet and done so before now.

Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

#144

Post by miscaccount » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:46 PM UTC

function_seven wrote: post #129

ianleeclark wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived through this in Austin. It's happening again.

Doesn't Austin have a local rideshare service that's popular? I thought I remembered them filling the void created when Uber left.

its closed now https://communityimpact.com/austin/central-austin/impacts/20...

Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

#145

Post by frenchman99 » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:47 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #66

throw_m239339 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We’re legally unequipped to deal well with gig workers. Yes we are equipped to deal well with gig workers, it's just that Uber doesn't want to play by the rules and want to have it both ways. Let drivers set their own fare, for starter. "Gig workers" aren't a new category of workers just because you use some corporate newspeak to describe these workers.

> Let drivers set their own fare, for starter Uber has allowed this since June [1]. [1] https://www.uber.com/blog/california/set-your-fares/

Looking at this page, it seems like they can't set their fares, but only a "fare multiplier", so effectively, Uber still decides.

Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

#146

Post by manfredo » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:48 PM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #83

> "What worker doesn't want to have access to paid sick leave?" Becerra said. "What worker doesn't want to have unemployment insurance at a time of Covid-19 crisis? What worker doesn't want to know that they'll get paid for overtime if they work 60 hours in a week or 12 hours in a day?" Since when are we reasoning about workers starting from what they want? If we go by that reasoning, "What worker does not want to be…

The question being posed isn't wrong, it's just incomplete:

> "What worker doesn't want to have unemployment insurance at a time of Covid-19 crisis? What worker doesn't want to know that they'll get paid for overtime if they work 60 hours in a week or 12 hours in a day? What workers wouldn't trade their ability to set their own hours for these benefits?"

The answer, as it turns out, is a lot of workers.

Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

#147

Post by fooey » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:48 PM UTC

cft wrote: post #122

fooey wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'll force local municipalities to take care of their transportation needs directly instead of outsourcing it to disloyal mercenaries. The cities that will be hurt are the ones that over relied on a parasitic business instead of investing in essential infrastructure.

What is parasitic about it? That they are using public roads?

They operate under illegal business models to produce impossibly low costs, driving out all legitimate competitors, including municipal infrastructure.

The Uber business plan has always been to break the law at a massive enough scale that they can buy new laws before enforcement catches up with them.

Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

#148

Post by jahewson » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:49 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #43

Maybe I'm cynical but "temporarily shut down" sounds like a formula to: - Inconvenience a certain class of urbanites who have grown accustomed to being driven around in the hopes that they - Complain loudly to their representatives and other governmental officials in the hope that - The state will reverse this judgement

The article is only three bullet points one of which is:

> If the appeal doesn’t work out for Uber, it will bank on voters to determine its fate in voting on Proposition 22, which would exempt drivers for app-based transportation and delivery companies from being considered employees.

Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

#149

Post by r29vzg2 » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:49 PM UTC

brooklyndude wrote: post #133

Just an update from an old guy. From my favorite capitalist, an oil futures trader on WS: Between 9:30-4:00 I’d kill my own mother to make a dime a trade. Kill my own fucking mother. Do we seriously think Uber would not slash wages to shit, deny healthcare, work drivers till they dropped, and then killed someone’s mother if they could make a dime and get away with it? People seriously believe they would not do that u…

That’s a very cynical view. What about You and I who also have a down payment and a mortgage? You can argue that Uber was exploiting workers, but at the same time, none of them were forced to work. All made a free choice. And now “The State” has essentially legislated them out of their jobs. The State has literally said, “you’re too stupid to realize you’re being taken advantage of, so you can’t work this job”. I’d say that “The State” is far more of a problem here than Uber.

Re: Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California

#150

Post by nwallin » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:49 PM UTC

GaryNumanVevo wrote: post #79

merpnderp wrote: post #9

Want to be free to have a random part-time gig you can pick up whenever you want? Nope, do-gooders are going to do-good you into a wage slave job like everyone else.

Categorically false, the law isn’t being changed. A judge ruled that Uber was violating labor laws which specifically protect both contractors and full time employees.

The law has most definitely been changed. If the law were a human, it wouldn't be old enough to walk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Assembly_Bill_5_(20...