The “labor laws” you reference only exist to give taxi companies monopolies and provide worse experiences for everyone involved
Comment on Lyft and Uber say they will leave Minneapolis if the mayor signs a minimum wage bill for drivers
grte@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Oh no! Businesses who’s ‘innovation’ is doing end runs around labour law leaving? How sad.
SCB@lemmy.world 1 year ago
CustodialTeapot@lemmy.world 1 year ago
You mean exist to ensure the underpaid actually get the legal minimum wage and to stop exploitive rich people from exploiting poor people?
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 1 year ago
But it isn’t like a lot of taxi companies didn’t do the same thing to their workers.
In most parts of the US, restriction of the number of taxis came from issuing a limited number of medallions. The owners of these medallions effectively became rentseekers, renting out their medallions to drivers. The system was rife with abuse.
Part of the main issue now is that a lot of small rentseekers got taken over by two big ones.
SCB@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Uber drivers don’t make less money than taxi drivers. On average, they make about the same.
darkmarx@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Then why would the company be against paying minimum wage?
nbailey@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Uber & Lyft drivers assume all the financial risk and responsibility for their car payment, maintenance, insurance, cleaning, health and dental insurance, etc. You’ll find that once you factor in the externalities the tech companies push into their workers, they don’t necessarily make good money at all.
grte@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Still better than the ‘gig economy’.
SCB@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The gig economy is less precarious for the people that choose it because it fits their schedule. That’s why they choose it. Jobs aren’t exactly hard to get right now.
Also uber drivers don’t make less money than taxi drivers. On average, they make about the same.
ours@lemmy.film 1 year ago
“choose” as in they all had a choice between a dependable job with benefits and a gig is a bit of an leap. Sure it’s the case for some but most certainly not all.
usualsuspect191@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
Do taxi drivers typically have to own/maintain/insure their own cars? I’ve always thought those were all paid for by the taxi company.
protist@mander.xyz 1 year ago
There’s nothing preventing Uber, Lyft, or any other company from charging realistic rates to pay drivers a minimum wage. But if Uber or Lyft do this, their rates end up being more than traditional taxis, so the question is why
SCB@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Uber and lift drivers make more than minimum wage so I’m not sure what you’re even saying here.
They cost less than taxis because they have less overhead.
Deiv@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
If that was the case then this bill would be no of no concern to them. In reality, only some drivers make more than minimum wage, not all
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 1 year ago
And whose business plan is to use VC money to undercut existing taxi services and drive them out of business so that they can increase prices to a profitable point (and beyond!).
afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I have little sympathy for the taxi companies. They were terrible at what they did for so long. I can still remember the last two taxi rides I had in my life.
Me stuck a 5 minute drive from work. Every cab company I call wants 40 dollars and only in cash. Why? Because it crossed a town and county line. It took 4 calls before I found one that would take plastic.
A year later going to the airport and I am fighting a migraine. No AC, cab was filthy, ads are blasting, and smelled. Hey can you turn off the advertisements? I can’t. Buddy I have a really bad headache can you please turn it off? I can’t do that. I will give you five dollars to turn it off. It goes off.
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah, it wasn’t like the taxi industry was all sunshine and flowers before Uber existed. I cheered them on in the fight for a while before realizing they weren’t my champion but just wanted to replace the existing taxis with their own and had to hike up prices eventually because they were losing tons of money in the meantime.