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If Apple has actually started publishing its own music then indeed Apple would be a music publisher. But has Uber done the same? Can you charter a car actually

If Apple has actually started publishing its own music then indeed Apple would be a music publisher. But has Uber done the same? Can you charter a car actually driven by Uber employees? As far as I am aware, Uber exclusively builds a platform to link passengers with independent drivers - who can and often do drive for competing services. Akin to what iTunes was before Apple started publishing its own music.

solidasparagus 6y ago
Your argument is circular. Uber drivers aren't employees because they are contractors. They are contractors because driving isn't Uber's core business. Uber's core business isn't driving because they don't have any drivers as employees. Uber buys cars and leases them to drivers, it offers full-time professional drivers through Black, it invests billions of dollars into self-driving cars, it offers delivery as a B2B service. Look at the Uber Eats advertising[1] - they aren't claiming to connect you to drivers, they are claiming to connect you to your customers. Uber's core business is clearly driving. [1] https://www.ubereats.com/restaurant/en-US/signup https://www.ubereats.com/restaurant/en-US/signup
- manfredo 6y ago
  No, the logic isn't circular at all. Uber drivers set their own hours, crucially, and are free to work at competitors. Someone can drive for Lyft 5 hours one week, and drive for Uber 5 or 15 hours the next. And Uber doesn't tell them when they need to work. You say that I Uber offers full time drivers through black. Do you mean that Uber assign drivers to work at a specific time frame for a significant duration? All I can tell about Uber Black is that it offers drivers with more stringent requirements (more licensing, more permits), I don't see any advertisement of having someone chauefer you around for a week. If Uber does offer that kind of service, then drivers rendering that service should be employed. > Look at the Uber Eats advertising[1] - they aren't claiming to connect you to drivers, they are claiming to connect you to your customers. Yes! This is entirely the point. The driver is a fairly minimal component of an Uber Eats order. Deliver usually amounts to less than a third of a delivery at least where I live and easily under a fifth. And for that reason Uber contract out this part of delivering an Uber Eats order. Simply asking the public "who wants to take this order to the delivery address?" and creating a market for labor is a more effective solution than making hiring decisions, trying to schedule people fairly across the day. If object to the contractor model as a whole that's its own criticism. But it is exceedingly hard to claim that Uber's relationship with drivers who participate in the market it runs is that of an employer to employee.

solidasparagus 6y ago

Your argument is circular. Uber drivers aren't employees because they are contractors. They are contractors because driving isn't Uber's core business. Uber's core business isn't driving because they don't have any drivers as employees. Uber buys cars and leases them to drivers, it offers full-time professional drivers through Black, it invests billions of dollars into self-driving cars, it offers delivery as a B2B service. Look at the Uber Eats advertising[1] - they aren't claiming to connect you to drivers, they are claiming to connect you to your customers. Uber's core business is clearly driving. [1] https://www.ubereats.com/restaurant/en-US/signup https://www.ubereats.com/restaurant/en-US/signup

manfredo 6y ago
No, the logic isn't circular at all. Uber drivers set their own hours, crucially, and are free to work at competitors. Someone can drive for Lyft 5 hours one week, and drive for Uber 5 or 15 hours the next. And Uber doesn't tell them when they need to work. You say that I Uber offers full time drivers through black. Do you mean that Uber assign drivers to work at a specific time frame for a significant duration? All I can tell about Uber Black is that it offers drivers with more stringent requirements (more licensing, more permits), I don't see any advertisement of having someone chauefer you around for a week. If Uber does offer that kind of service, then drivers rendering that service should be employed. > Look at the Uber Eats advertising[1] - they aren't claiming to connect you to drivers, they are claiming to connect you to your customers. Yes! This is entirely the point. The driver is a fairly minimal component of an Uber Eats order. Deliver usually amounts to less than a third of a delivery at least where I live and easily under a fifth. And for that reason Uber contract out this part of delivering an Uber Eats order. Simply asking the public "who wants to take this order to the delivery address?" and creating a market for labor is a more effective solution than making hiring decisions, trying to schedule people fairly across the day. If object to the contractor model as a whole that's its own criticism. But it is exceedingly hard to claim that Uber's relationship with drivers who participate in the market it runs is that of an employer to employee.