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> it is entirely an at-will engagement Yes but one side has significantly more leverage, bargaining power and resources to skew the contract in their favor tha

by athenot 10y ago

> it is entirely an at-will engagement Yes but one side has significantly more leverage, bargaining power and resources to skew the contract in their favor than the other. We don't think a large multinational and a 1-person shop have the same bargain power and access to markets, nor do we generally consider the US and Lichtenstein to have equal powers. Yet when it comes to employment, it's bizarre than some consider an individual with maybe $10,000 in the bank is somehow on equal footing with a company with over $10,000,000,000 in the bank.

twblalock 10y ago
> Yet when it comes to employment, it's bizarre than some consider an individual with maybe $10,000 in the bank is somehow on equal footing with a company with over $10,000,000,000 in the bank. I didn't see anyone here say that. Furthermore, the existence of a power imbalance does not mean that the particular set of regulations imposed on Uber by Seattle are a good idea. It is entirely possible in these kinds of situations that the power imbalance is bad but the proposed solutions are worse.
- criddell 10y ago
  I think it's worth trying in Seattle. A few years from now Seattle can be compared to other cities and we can try to figure out what the effects of the regulations are. If nothing good comes from it, rewrite the rules and try again.
  - twblalock 10y ago
    > If nothing good comes from it, rewrite the rules and try again. The problem is, that's not the way it works. Bad regulations are rarely replaced in our political system. Bad regulations often get votes or legalize rent-seeking by interest groups, such as unions, who have political clout. It is much harder to reverse bad regulations than to avoid them in the first place, and that's why it is so important to oppose them in their early stages.
    - Ericson2314 10y ago
      Private sector unions typically have less clout. We'll see if this case is any different.
    - criddell 10y ago
      > it is so important to oppose them in their early stages Meh. This is one city and not a particularly conservative one. If a change needs to be made in five or ten years, they will make it. There's a decent chance the regulations will have a net positive effect so run the experiment and lets see what happens.
    - malandrew 10y ago
      Yup. “It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.” ― Calvin Coolidge
sageikosa 10y ago
any valid contract can only be signed by willing parties. if one party doesn't like the conditions, they don't have to enter into it.
SomewhatLikely 10y ago
So will the union rules only apply to large multinationals? Or will they also be applied to smaller startups with significantly less power than the new union will have?

by athenot 10y ago

twblalock 10y ago

> Yet when it comes to employment, it's bizarre than some consider an individual with maybe $10,000 in the bank is somehow on equal footing with a company with over $10,000,000,000 in the bank. I didn't see anyone here say that. Furthermore, the existence of a power imbalance does not mean that the particular set of regulations imposed on Uber by Seattle are a good idea. It is entirely possible in these kinds of situations that the power imbalance is bad but the proposed solutions are worse.

criddell 10y ago
I think it's worth trying in Seattle. A few years from now Seattle can be compared to other cities and we can try to figure out what the effects of the regulations are. If nothing good comes from it, rewrite the rules and try again.
- twblalock 10y ago
  > If nothing good comes from it, rewrite the rules and try again. The problem is, that's not the way it works. Bad regulations are rarely replaced in our political system. Bad regulations often get votes or legalize rent-seeking by interest groups, such as unions, who have political clout. It is much harder to reverse bad regulations than to avoid them in the first place, and that's why it is so important to oppose them in their early stages.
  - Ericson2314 10y ago
    Private sector unions typically have less clout. We'll see if this case is any different.
  - criddell 10y ago
    > it is so important to oppose them in their early stages Meh. This is one city and not a particularly conservative one. If a change needs to be made in five or ten years, they will make it. There's a decent chance the regulations will have a net positive effect so run the experiment and lets see what happens.
  - malandrew 10y ago
    Yup. “It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.” ― Calvin Coolidge

sageikosa 10y ago

any valid contract can only be signed by willing parties. if one party doesn't like the conditions, they don't have to enter into it.

SomewhatLikely 10y ago

So will the union rules only apply to large multinationals? Or will they also be applied to smaller startups with significantly less power than the new union will have?