Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 401 posts

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#111

Post by tasuki »

> The company, along with Lyft and DoorDash, spent more than $200m to deny drivers the wages and benefits we’re entitled to

I wonder, why does the author think they're entitled to wages and benefits beyond what they agreed to?

I'd understand the sentiment a little more if Uber was wildly profitable, but it isn't. If Uber isn't treating the drivers right, they don't have to drive for Uber. Or they can go and try to change the laws and regulations to be more fair. But no one is entitled to anything.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#112

Post by NovemberWhiskey »

moduspol wrote: post #99
NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #14

Alternative spin, same facts: "voters undo unpopular overreach by state government".

For real. My exposure to California news is basically just what I see on HN and anything that hits national headlines. I had no idea Californians would vote for something like this. Kind of makes you wonder how large the disconnect is between what we see in the media and what people actually think.

Right. Another great example, which confounds the liberal-conservative aspect some people will see in Prop 22, is soft drug legalization.

How many states have legalized personal marijuana usage due to action initiated in their legislatures? How many have done so due to ballot initiatives?

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#113

Post by Jommi »

rideontime wrote: post #94
moduspol wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine it was also good for your mental state of well-being. You didn't have to sign up for a handout or even get a "goodwill" job like a greeter or something at a big box store. Uber and Airbnb didn't have to take a loss to employ you. You got paid because you provided value to people willing to pay for it, just like the rest of us. That's not to say we don't need social safety nets, or that it'd work for any dis…

> Uber and Airbnb didn't have to take a loss to employ you. Oh really? Has Uber turned a profit yet?

Yes. Their ridehailing unit makes profit every quarter.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#114

Post by dannyw »

Alex3917 wrote: post #102
ericabiz wrote: post #51

My husband drives for Uber, and I’m glad the proposition passed as it is. He drives the way Uber was originally envisioned. He goes out some nights if there’s a surge, and in the morning on the way to work he points the app toward our stores and grabs a person (pre-pandemic) or a food delivery (today) on his way in. It pays for gas money, car maintenance, and then some. Some months he makes a few hundred dollars. Som…

> I feel strongly like this law was pushed by people who want Uber to be a full-time job. It’s not. Does the app give him the contact info for each of his passengers after every ride so that he can own the business relationship with them? If not then he's an employee, not an independent contractor. The number of hours worked per month is a complete red herring.

Should this binary classification, devised prior to this whole model of work was invented, still exist?

It's like not updating your horse carriage road laws to accommodate automobiles; because everything is either a pedestrian or a horse carriage. If there's no horse, a car isn't a vehicle; it's a pedestrian.

Makes no sense.

If you think Uber drives deserve more than 120% of min wage, then you can argue that, but I don't see why you have to argue employee vs IC.

P.S. Most Uber drivers, when independently polled, are for Prop 22. It's the unions that were pushing this, so they can collect union dues and grow their revenues.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#115

Post by [deleted] »

uptown wrote: post #17

One element of Prop 22 which seems extreme to me are the voting requirements to one-day overturn the law: "A change to the law would require a seven-eighths majority in the California legislature." I realize that we don't want laws on the books that are continually changed, but that's an extremely steep climb, should the majority of the legislature feel that this law is problematic. They need virtual total agreement.

[deleted]

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#116

Post by anovikov »

Well, people got used to the taxi rides being dirt cheap. It will be very hard to convince them otherwise: number of people who ride Uber is in any case much higher than number of people who drive for Uber, so in any democratic society measures supporting them, will fail.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#117

Post by MattGaiser »

moduspol wrote: post #99
NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #14

Alternative spin, same facts: "voters undo unpopular overreach by state government".

For real. My exposure to California news is basically just what I see on HN and anything that hits national headlines. I had no idea Californians would vote for something like this. Kind of makes you wonder how large the disconnect is between what we see in the media and what people actually think.

I suspect it is a pocketbook issue. Californians don’t want to pay more for transport and food delivery. Political ideals often give way to cheaper goods.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#118

Post by hodgesrm »

moduspol wrote: post #99
NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #14

Alternative spin, same facts: "voters undo unpopular overreach by state government".

For real. My exposure to California news is basically just what I see on HN and anything that hits national headlines. I had no idea Californians would vote for something like this. Kind of makes you wonder how large the disconnect is between what we see in the media and what people actually think.

58% of them voted for this proposition, based on results a few days after the election.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#119

Post by moduspol »

rideontime wrote: post #94
moduspol wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine it was also good for your mental state of well-being. You didn't have to sign up for a handout or even get a "goodwill" job like a greeter or something at a big box store. Uber and Airbnb didn't have to take a loss to employ you. You got paid because you provided value to people willing to pay for it, just like the rest of us. That's not to say we don't need social safety nets, or that it'd work for any dis…

> Uber and Airbnb didn't have to take a loss to employ you. Oh really? Has Uber turned a profit yet?

Putting aside that clearly my point was that no special treatment was given to him as a result of his disability:

Just because the business as a whole is not turning a profit does not mean the business loses money with each and every action it takes.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#120

Post by stevesearer »

truculent wrote: post #108
ericabiz wrote: post #51

My husband drives for Uber, and I’m glad the proposition passed as it is. He drives the way Uber was originally envisioned. He goes out some nights if there’s a surge, and in the morning on the way to work he points the app toward our stores and grabs a person (pre-pandemic) or a food delivery (today) on his way in. It pays for gas money, car maintenance, and then some. Some months he makes a few hundred dollars. Som…

Your husband is very fortunate; I’ve never met someone who drives for Uber and is not doing it full-time. Wishing it wasn’t that way doesn’t make it so.

I’m in Santa Barbara and I’ve had a number of drivers who are not full-time.

Students, retired people, and my favorite was a guy who would take 1-2 trips on the way home from his job to put into a travel savings so he and his family upgrade their vacations.

Post reply on HN