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Revolt of the Delivery Workers

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Re: Revolt of the Delivery Workers

#121

Post by nerdponx »

tazjin wrote: post #51

It's always strange to read these reports from American cities that sound like something out of war-torn countries. Delivery workers grouping together to defend themselves against hordes of bandits, in well-known places, with no police protection? What the ...? This sort of thing would be unthinkable in central Moscow and most other large European city centres (the only European city I've ever felt unsafe in is Bruss…

The victims themselves here are more or less part of the downtrodden caste. Some of them might not be living in the USA with legal authorization. They probably don't feel like the city is interested in protecting them, and it seems like in some cases they are already familiar with "protecting themselves" in organized groups. So with a lack of political interest in their case, banding together makes perfect sense.

Re: Revolt of the Delivery Workers

#122

Post by CryptoPunk »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #96
CryptoPunk wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The crime described in the article hurts capital too. Many companies have to leave markets due to the costs imposed by the described criminality. This bifurcation betweem labor and capital is an invention of socialists/unions, to draw attention away from the exploitation that they demand.

That hypothesis is belied by the fact that these companies allocate approximately zero of their considerable lobbying resources to fixing the issue.

Have you ever attended a local government hearing in a large city? It's filled with people on the dole, affiliated with a network of taxpayer subsidized nonprofits and social agencies, all promoting far-left ideological platitudes that the local politicians parrot for their own survival. There is no chance these companies could outlobby the forces against them. Basic policing in general is virulently opposed within these circles, I hypothesize because it precludes the alternative 'solution': more social spending, ostensibly aimed at solving the "root causes" of crime, but really designed to fill the pockets of Poverty Inc.

I think as a lobbying force to counter these destructive special interests, the best chance we have is property owners. If they organize at a larger scale, they could potentially fund their own army of local lobbyists capable of matching those of the beneficiaries of the tax payer funded social programs. Home Owners Associations already have some organization, and if they pool their funds together, could be a political force to reckon with.

Re: Revolt of the Delivery Workers

#123

Post by bradleyjg »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #117
pandaman wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure how is the state stats are relevant in discussing DeBlasio's performance or one week makes a trend though. Here are the annual stats for felonies: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_... https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_... Some crimes are down, some (e.g. murder) are up.

Oops, didn’t notice the first link was for New York State. The CompStat link includes longer-term trends, though, which is what I was referring to. Crime is down overall, and I suspect that if you controlled for the murder rate increase in all US cities over the past two years it might be flat or down in NYC as well.

If Chicago, San Francisco, and Minneapolis all jump off a bridge NYC should too?

Re: Revolt of the Delivery Workers

#124

Post by eru »

refurb wrote: post #87
eru wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not in all jurisdictions. My adopted home of Singapore seems to handle this really well. There's always stories of people leaving there wallets and phones to reserve tables at the food court. Without any issue.

Having spent time in Singapore, plenty of crime never makes the news. Talk to some of the folks who do their National Service with the SPF. But yes, it’s definitely a low crime jurisdiction but I don’t think enforcement has that much to do with it.

Yes, I can't tell how much is enforcement and how much is a more law abiding population.

Re: Revolt of the Delivery Workers

#125

Post by sudosysgen »

humanistbot wrote: post #80
rightbyte wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For example, there have appeared automated boxes for recipients to pick up packages. You mean a mail box?

It looks like you're trying to make a clever joke in the style of mocking SV types for reinventing products that have existed for generations, except you're wrong. The parent means the Amazon delivery locker kiosks they're putting in all kinds of retail stores, where you enter a code to unlock the locker with your package. It is secure from theft, has variable sizes, works 24/7 with no waiting for a clerk, and can fi…

The only difference between what you're describing and Canada Post lockers is variable sizes.

Re: Revolt of the Delivery Workers

#126

Post by willcipriano »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #111
rightbyte wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drama? Didn't the SF DA stop enforcing laws on theft under some arbitrary but quite large value? I would not call it an exaggeration.

The amount of attention spent on Chesa Boudin and shoplifting is puzzling. Wage theft is by far the biggest form of stealing, and it’s rarely — if ever — prosecuted… but instead we’re worried about a small increase in petty larceny?

Police officers don't investigate wage theft, labor boards do. Not going after shoplifters, bike thieves and porch pirates doesn't free up any resources in order to go after wage theft, it just makes the area less safe and more expensive.

Re: Revolt of the Delivery Workers

#127

Post by jollybean »

Telemakhos wrote: post #99
jollybean wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So a mailbox with a lock then? We should have had that in 1980. 5 'large mailboxes' for the apartment building, the postman sets the code, locks it, and leaves writes the code on a piece of paper and leaves it in your slot. This is not 'Silicon Valley' innovation.

I do have that in my apartment building. But, instead of a code, the lockboxes have keys that only the postman can remove from them. He locks a package in the box, removes the key, and puts it in the recipient's box. When the recipient checks his mail, he uses the key to open the lockbox and withdraw his package. The key is then stuck in the lockbox lock and cannot be withdrawn again except by the postman.

These were ubiquitous in airports, bus/train stations and shopping malls before 9/11 i.e. 'coin slot storage'.

I guess people born after a certain age won't remember them, but people born before that will see them as obvious.

This exactly the kind of 'robust, localized and low-cost' solution that we have available to us.

Re: Revolt of the Delivery Workers

#128

Post by tazjin »

nerdponx wrote: post #121
tazjin wrote: post #51

It's always strange to read these reports from American cities that sound like something out of war-torn countries. Delivery workers grouping together to defend themselves against hordes of bandits, in well-known places, with no police protection? What the ...? This sort of thing would be unthinkable in central Moscow and most other large European city centres (the only European city I've ever felt unsafe in is Bruss…

The victims themselves here are more or less part of the downtrodden caste. Some of them might not be living in the USA with legal authorization. They probably don't feel like the city is interested in protecting them, and it seems like in some cases they are already familiar with "protecting themselves" in organized groups. So with a lack of political interest in their case, banding together makes perfect sense.

There's no way it's this simple. Looking at a map of NYC, it seems that this must be a fairly major bridge (southernmost connection from the Bronx to Manhattan) for all kinds of traffic. I'd expect plenty of average people not involved in delivery gangs (??) to cross there, too, and have issues with the roving bandits.

If this is a known crime hotspot, shouldn't police just be hanging out there?

Re: Revolt of the Delivery Workers

#129

Post by sudosysgen »

Gaessaki wrote: post #43

We’ve recently started deploying expensive e-cargo bikes for our food delivery coop[1] to try to whittle down our carbon footprint and increase efficiency in urban areas. We have a similar problem of trying to protect our delivery assets (though not nearly as bad as the plight of the gig workers in the article given that our workers can count on the coop and also because Montreal is generally safer than NYC). Our thr…

How about a lock through the disk brakes, operated electronically?

What you're doing is quite interesting as someone else in the Montreal area :)

Re: Revolt of the Delivery Workers

#130

Post by yadaeno »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #111
rightbyte wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drama? Didn't the SF DA stop enforcing laws on theft under some arbitrary but quite large value? I would not call it an exaggeration.

The amount of attention spent on Chesa Boudin and shoplifting is puzzling. Wage theft is by far the biggest form of stealing, and it’s rarely — if ever — prosecuted… but instead we’re worried about a small increase in petty larceny?

We shouldn't have to choose between wage theft or regular theft.

Also has Boudin done anything significant to combat wage theft? Or do you think since wage theft exists "burn it all down".

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