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It’ll be interesting to see what happens once all the workers in the gig economy recognize the power they have to just destroy these companies. Uber can’t reall

It’ll be interesting to see what happens once all the workers in the gig economy recognize the power they have to just destroy these companies. Uber can’t really retaliate people organizing against them because they aren’t employees.

themagician 8y ago
They have no power. They have numbers but they can’t use them. They are too poor and too desperate to be unemployed for long, they have no benefits, and many will be replaced with robots. The gig economy is an underclass. They are serfs. Unless they rise up violently nothing will change.
- techslave 8y ago
  or take up a skilled trade
  - hedvig 8y ago
    Leaen2code
    - sbzodnsbd 8y ago
      Learn to type
    - dang 8y ago
      Could you please stop posting unsubstantive comments to Hacker News?
  - cortesoft 8y ago
    So you think if all the uber drivers suddenly had expertise in a skilled trade, they could all get jobs?
    - jimrhods23 8y ago
      Do you think if Uber suddenly was forced to make all of these drivers employees with benefits, that everyone would continue to have a job?
      - cortesoft 8y ago
        No, I don’t. I was not suggesting that.
- wrong_variable 8y ago
  > They have no power. They have the power to vote, arguably much more influential then money. > They are too poor and too desperate to be unemployed for long If they are too poor, they also qualify for food stamp and a bunch of other benefit that YOU are paying for ! Its a transfer of wealth from your work / pocket to rich Uber shareholders like Saudi Arabia. > and many will be replaced with robots. Unlikely, especially for last mile, and in cities ( where most people live ) > The gig economy is an underclass. They are serfs. Most of us are "serfs" to somebody, unless you are retired or are living off your investments. > Unless they rise up violently nothing will change. Not really, they just need to vote, DJT is an example, Bernie maybe next.
  - tomjakubowski 8y ago
    It's pretty off topic for the thread, but DJT's election was probably more about "not voting" than about voting. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/voter-turnout-2016-elections https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/voter-turnout-2016-ele...
- YeahSureWhyNot 8y ago
  unfortunately everyone has bills and bills don't care that you are on strike. most of american lower class has close to no savings to fall back on. a month without a pay means getting really close to becoming homeless.
booleandilemma 8y ago
Uber can’t really retaliate people organizing against them... All Uber has to do is raise the wages of the drivers who don’t strike. This will encourage other drivers to give up the strike and start driving again. Once enough drivers are back, Uber will lower their wages again. And they could probably automate this.
- ars 8y ago
  > And they could probably automate this. They do. It's called surge pricing. If there are not enough drivers prices go up. And yes, drivers definitely notice and go drive when they see surge pricing is in effect.
- karlakush 8y ago
  It's already automated. That's the whole point of surge pricing: to raise prices when they need more drivers and lower prices when there are too many drivers. If these drivers actually think striking is going to do anything, they have no understanding of economics.
ars 8y ago
And why would they want to destroy those companies? Uber gives them income they otherwise would not have (if they had better employment options they would use them - especially in the current excellent economy). So why would they want to destroy their source of income?
- criddell 8y ago
  They wouldn't necessarily want to destroy the company, but it certainly helps them negotiate. Especially since there doesn't seem to be anything particularly special about Uber anymore. They did the hard work of breaking down bureaucracies and getting people used to the idea of non-professional drivers. When Uber and Lyft left Austin, a bunch of companies popped up very quickly to fill the gap. It isn't clear to me what you are investing in if you were to buy Uber shares.
  - karlakush 8y ago
    Negotiate for what, a larger share of Uber's losses? You can't negotiate for more money with a company that loses hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
BurningFrog 8y ago
Destroying your employer is a sure way to prosperity. You always get the best strategic advice on the internet!
- llukas 8y ago
  Please decide if they are employees or contractors. Contractors can drive for somebody else.
  - jsnider3 8y ago
    At least half of the Uber drivers I meet are driving for someone else and that someone else is Lyft.
  - BurningFrog 8y ago
    That's a whole other question. The real answer is that they're a new category that doesn't fit into 20th century US employment law. But until the law catches up to reality around 2048, I guess the category that's least wrong is "contractor".
  - unstatusthequo 8y ago
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-lawsuit-idUSKBN1HJ31I https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-lawsuit-idUSKBN1HJ31...

themagician 8y ago

They have no power. They have numbers but they can’t use them. They are too poor and too desperate to be unemployed for long, they have no benefits, and many will be replaced with robots. The gig economy is an underclass. They are serfs. Unless they rise up violently nothing will change.

techslave 8y ago
or take up a skilled trade
- hedvig 8y ago
  Leaen2code
  - sbzodnsbd 8y ago
    Learn to type
  - dang 8y ago
    Could you please stop posting unsubstantive comments to Hacker News?
- cortesoft 8y ago
  So you think if all the uber drivers suddenly had expertise in a skilled trade, they could all get jobs?
  - jimrhods23 8y ago
    Do you think if Uber suddenly was forced to make all of these drivers employees with benefits, that everyone would continue to have a job?
    - cortesoft 8y ago
      No, I don’t. I was not suggesting that.
wrong_variable 8y ago
> They have no power. They have the power to vote, arguably much more influential then money. > They are too poor and too desperate to be unemployed for long If they are too poor, they also qualify for food stamp and a bunch of other benefit that YOU are paying for ! Its a transfer of wealth from your work / pocket to rich Uber shareholders like Saudi Arabia. > and many will be replaced with robots. Unlikely, especially for last mile, and in cities ( where most people live ) > The gig economy is an underclass. They are serfs. Most of us are "serfs" to somebody, unless you are retired or are living off your investments. > Unless they rise up violently nothing will change. Not really, they just need to vote, DJT is an example, Bernie maybe next.
- tomjakubowski 8y ago
  It's pretty off topic for the thread, but DJT's election was probably more about "not voting" than about voting. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/voter-turnout-2016-elections https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/voter-turnout-2016-ele...
YeahSureWhyNot 8y ago
unfortunately everyone has bills and bills don't care that you are on strike. most of american lower class has close to no savings to fall back on. a month without a pay means getting really close to becoming homeless.

booleandilemma 8y ago

Uber can’t really retaliate people organizing against them... All Uber has to do is raise the wages of the drivers who don’t strike. This will encourage other drivers to give up the strike and start driving again. Once enough drivers are back, Uber will lower their wages again. And they could probably automate this.

ars 8y ago
> And they could probably automate this. They do. It's called surge pricing. If there are not enough drivers prices go up. And yes, drivers definitely notice and go drive when they see surge pricing is in effect.
karlakush 8y ago
It's already automated. That's the whole point of surge pricing: to raise prices when they need more drivers and lower prices when there are too many drivers. If these drivers actually think striking is going to do anything, they have no understanding of economics.

ars 8y ago

And why would they want to destroy those companies? Uber gives them income they otherwise would not have (if they had better employment options they would use them - especially in the current excellent economy). So why would they want to destroy their source of income?

criddell 8y ago
They wouldn't necessarily want to destroy the company, but it certainly helps them negotiate. Especially since there doesn't seem to be anything particularly special about Uber anymore. They did the hard work of breaking down bureaucracies and getting people used to the idea of non-professional drivers. When Uber and Lyft left Austin, a bunch of companies popped up very quickly to fill the gap. It isn't clear to me what you are investing in if you were to buy Uber shares.
- karlakush 8y ago
  Negotiate for what, a larger share of Uber's losses? You can't negotiate for more money with a company that loses hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

BurningFrog 8y ago

Destroying your employer is a sure way to prosperity. You always get the best strategic advice on the internet!

llukas 8y ago
Please decide if they are employees or contractors. Contractors can drive for somebody else.
- jsnider3 8y ago
  At least half of the Uber drivers I meet are driving for someone else and that someone else is Lyft.
- BurningFrog 8y ago
  That's a whole other question. The real answer is that they're a new category that doesn't fit into 20th century US employment law. But until the law catches up to reality around 2048, I guess the category that's least wrong is "contractor".
- unstatusthequo 8y ago
  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-lawsuit-idUSKBN1HJ31I https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-lawsuit-idUSKBN1HJ31...