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Uber: “Yes on Prop 22” popups shown to drivers

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Re: Uber: “Yes on Prop 22” popups shown to drivers

#22
post #3

I am so against prop22 it pains me so here I am ranting on the internet. What's going on is a negotiation between the state and these companies that are able to take advantage of a gap in how insurance and other benefits work. Instead of actively negotiating with the state, Uber/Lyft/Doordash and many others have simply asked to maintain the status quo, screw the drivers, just business as usual. Drivers do not get be…

What's the threat of Uber going away? What's the moat? Wouldn't another company simply fill the vacuum? That is, unless Uber's whole venture is unprofitable.

Re: Uber: “Yes on Prop 22” popups shown to drivers

#23
I have to preface this by saying I'm not defending Uber - I haven't followed the debate around this proposition.

But...lots of people in tech, and on this site, have long been pushing companies to hold and voice political opinions. To those of you who have - did you really, honestly think that these companies would not also become vocally active in their own political interests? Did you really think they'd only speak up when it was your own opinions that needed boosting?

Re: Uber: “Yes on Prop 22” popups shown to drivers

#24
post #3

I am so against prop22 it pains me so here I am ranting on the internet. What's going on is a negotiation between the state and these companies that are able to take advantage of a gap in how insurance and other benefits work. Instead of actively negotiating with the state, Uber/Lyft/Doordash and many others have simply asked to maintain the status quo, screw the drivers, just business as usual. Drivers do not get be…

Posted it in an other thread [0] but do we really want to go back to the medallion system? Pre-Uber, either the driver rented the car to a middleman who rented the medallion from a rich owner, or said owner was selling and financing (most banks won't touch these medallions!) a medallion at a ridiculous interest rate to a driver that planned to use it as his retirement savings (an extremely volatile asset and not very liquid). The more I spoke to cab drivers the more it seemed their industry was a pyramid scheme aimed at helping established rent-seeker take advantage of often poor new immigrants.

Don't tell me these shady day-to-day medallion rental businesses offered benefits to the drivers...

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24225648

Re: Uber: “Yes on Prop 22” popups shown to drivers

#25

Isn’t there something deeply unethical about telling your employees how to vote?

Not at all. Coercing employees to vote a certain way, or penalizing them for failing to do so, would be clearly unethical. But I don’t see how a company telling their employees to vote yes on 22 is any different from an activist group telling people to vote no.

Re: Uber: “Yes on Prop 22” popups shown to drivers

#26
post #16

Doing some more exploration on this. Apparently until you click “yes” it would spam you. And if you did click “yes” then your riders would get a message when they take a ride that you support prop 22. https://twitter.com/unicorn__voice/status/131753631910332825...

>Tweet: Thats infuriating, misleading and probably illegal

Anyone know what is potentially illegal about this?

Re: Uber: “Yes on Prop 22” popups shown to drivers

#27
post #14

I am just an user of Uber (not a driver) and Uber has been showing shit like this on my phone. https://i.ibb.co/7yQLdY6/7865-CBAD-6928-4637-958-C-011736362... I haven't used the app for a year or so. This is fucking ridiculous. I have uninstalled Uber and I will also recommend all my friends to do the same.

What do they mean “this ad is paid for by Uber Technologies”... it’s a push notification they sent in their own app. Who is paying who?

Re: Uber: “Yes on Prop 22” popups shown to drivers

#28

Isn’t there something deeply unethical about telling your employees how to vote?

Uber probably saw the backlash to Coinbase trying to remain politically neutral, and decided they had to do this to avoid being seen as unethical. Since there's no such thing as politically neutral.

Re: Uber: “Yes on Prop 22” popups shown to drivers

#29
This is at least as justified as the Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality[1]. Uber has every right to tell their users that the state of california is trying to outlaw their business model, and to try to convince them to vote to save it.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_Action_to_Save_Net_Neut...

Re: Uber: “Yes on Prop 22” popups shown to drivers

#30
I dislike Uber to the point where I do not use those services, but I have only some problem with what they are doing. In a very real sense, it is their platform to administer as they see fit. That includes sending notifications.

In that sense, why is a popup window so upsetting. Is the issue somehow related to voting ( as in, my company probably shouldn't send a mass email saying to vote for Trump/Biden ) that makes people so upset? That I could understand, but that does not appear to be a complaint here.

What am I missing here?

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