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Sure, but what about people that work 2-4 hours a day, to supplement their main job? Or once a day on the weekends? Or a mom whose daily routine is to drop the

Sure, but what about people that work 2-4 hours a day, to supplement their main job? Or once a day on the weekends? Or a mom whose daily routine is to drop the kids off school, and drive Uber until the kids are done with school? This is the problem with extending employee benefits to gig workers. Employee benefits are an overhead cost, so now it becomes unprofitable for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, etc. to have workers working sporadic hours. If their workers get classified as employees, then they'll have to start setting hours for employees. This put a lot of people who need flexible hours out of work.

inferiorhuman 7y ago
Sure, but what about people that work 2-4 hours a day, to supplement their main job? Or once a day on the weekends? Or a mom whose daily routine is to drop the kids off school, and drive Uber until the kids are done with school? By and large they don't exist.
- manigandham 7y ago
  They are the vast majority of Uber drivers.
  - inferiorhuman 7y ago
    Those who stick around are driving more than occasionally. The "vast majority" of those buying into this "gig economy" bullshit only last a few months at most. https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/06/uber-fails-to-disrupt-the-concept-of-full-time-work/562427/ https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/06/uber-fails-to... Low wages correspond to a high turnover rate. While more than 800,000 people drive for Uber in a year, the average driver lasts around three months and drives less than half time, or only 17 hours per week.
    - manigandham 7y ago
      Ok, but that doesn't refute anything I said. The whole point is that it's not a FT job. Most drivers are work for a few hours a week in addition to their other job/school/etc. It's perfectly valid for people to drive when they need extra income and stop as their situation changes. That's what the flexibility is for.
      - inferiorhuman 7y ago
        The whole point is that it's not a FT job. It is a full-time job in that the so-called "core" drivers drive for Uber full-time. There are a lot of part-time employees too, and they're just as deserving of minimum wage, social security contributions, workers comp insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance, and the whole host of other benefits that come with being classed as not-a-contractor. It's perfectly valid for people to drive when they need extra income There've been part-time jobs with flexible schedules since before Boober was even a glimmer in Kalanick's horny eyes. The difference is that when you work as a part-timer for a real company you are subject to things like minimum wage. Driving for Uber is nowhere near as profitable as their marketing is claiming. For instance: https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/243102-uber-fined-20-million-lying-driver-earnings-predatory-financing https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/243102-uber-fined-20-mill... Across all of those cities less than 30% of the drivers are making what Uber claims they can make. That's before the usury that Uber engages in (20% APR on a new car lone? for fucks sake).
        manigandham 7y ago
        Employee vs contractor is not about time, it's about control. You can work on a freelance project for 40 hours a week but that doesn't suddenly mean you're an employee. If you want flexibility then you're a contractor. Part-time isn't an answer because it still has the strict control of FT. Most drivers of uber want flexibility, not a job where they have to show up at certain hours. You're arguing for something without even discussing it with the people you're supposedly arguing about.
jrs235 7y ago
The problem is health benefits are typically tied to and provided through employers...

inferiorhuman 7y ago

manigandham 7y ago
They are the vast majority of Uber drivers.
- inferiorhuman 7y ago
  Those who stick around are driving more than occasionally. The "vast majority" of those buying into this "gig economy" bullshit only last a few months at most. https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/06/uber-fails-to-disrupt-the-concept-of-full-time-work/562427/ https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/06/uber-fails-to... Low wages correspond to a high turnover rate. While more than 800,000 people drive for Uber in a year, the average driver lasts around three months and drives less than half time, or only 17 hours per week.
  - manigandham 7y ago
    Ok, but that doesn't refute anything I said. The whole point is that it's not a FT job. Most drivers are work for a few hours a week in addition to their other job/school/etc. It's perfectly valid for people to drive when they need extra income and stop as their situation changes. That's what the flexibility is for.
    - inferiorhuman 7y ago
      The whole point is that it's not a FT job. It is a full-time job in that the so-called "core" drivers drive for Uber full-time. There are a lot of part-time employees too, and they're just as deserving of minimum wage, social security contributions, workers comp insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance, and the whole host of other benefits that come with being classed as not-a-contractor. It's perfectly valid for people to drive when they need extra income There've been part-time jobs with flexible schedules since before Boober was even a glimmer in Kalanick's horny eyes. The difference is that when you work as a part-timer for a real company you are subject to things like minimum wage. Driving for Uber is nowhere near as profitable as their marketing is claiming. For instance: https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/243102-uber-fined-20-million-lying-driver-earnings-predatory-financing https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/243102-uber-fined-20-mill... Across all of those cities less than 30% of the drivers are making what Uber claims they can make. That's before the usury that Uber engages in (20% APR on a new car lone? for fucks sake).
      - manigandham 7y ago
        Employee vs contractor is not about time, it's about control. You can work on a freelance project for 40 hours a week but that doesn't suddenly mean you're an employee. If you want flexibility then you're a contractor. Part-time isn't an answer because it still has the strict control of FT. Most drivers of uber want flexibility, not a job where they have to show up at certain hours. You're arguing for something without even discussing it with the people you're supposedly arguing about.

jrs235 7y ago

The problem is health benefits are typically tied to and provided through employers...