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It is downright obsecene to say Uber is breaking the law how it currently operates. By violating labor rights. Governments may, at their discretion change the

It is downright obsecene to say Uber is breaking the law how it currently operates. By violating labor rights. Governments may, at their discretion change the rules about how Uber might deal with its workers. California recently did this. > Now make a judgment on whether you think some of these companies are infringing some of these rights Maybe you could post your own analysis instead of having a sparse wikipedia page do the heavy lifting? For legal: What law are they breaking by paying drivers as contractors? For moral: Given that 1099 status is legal, why don't drivers have a right to be classified as such? The law provides me the opportunity to work as a self employed contractor. I drive for Uber, Lyft, any whoever else. I end up making less than minimum wage. Who has violated my moral entitlement? Was it Uber? Did I violate my own rights? Why don't I have the right not to make minimum wage?

everforward 4y ago
In my opinion, they're using the 1099 status in a way it was not meant to be used. The history of the 1099 lends itself toward high-risk, high-reward employment. People who started their own businesses and accepted the risk of poor wages or failure in exchange for the chance to have a successful business. The gig 1099 is a form of moderate-risk, low-reward employment. The risks are slightly lower because of piggybacking on a successful company, but the workers will never become independent of Uber, nor will they ever have a chance of "making it big". Their future is inexorably tangled with that of Uber/Lyft/whoever. > Did I violate my own rights? Why don't I have the right not to make minimum wage? The structure of our society mandates that people work. There are generally more people than jobs (as evidenced by a permanent unemployment rate). Allowing some classes of workers to work for below minimum wage can depress wages, because workers without other options will have to accept those below-minimum wages. Then there's a risk it spreads once normalized. Imagine big box stores and fast food switching to 1099's. A lot of those workers won't have the option to just work for someone else for minimum wage, because they lack the skills to switch to a new vertical. They either work for less than minimum wage, or they don't work. The overarching idea is that it's better to take the right to work for less than minimum wage away to preserve a livable wage for people who won't have any other options.

everforward 4y ago

In my opinion, they're using the 1099 status in a way it was not meant to be used. The history of the 1099 lends itself toward high-risk, high-reward employment. People who started their own businesses and accepted the risk of poor wages or failure in exchange for the chance to have a successful business. The gig 1099 is a form of moderate-risk, low-reward employment. The risks are slightly lower because of piggybacking on a successful company, but the workers will never become independent of Uber, nor will they ever have a chance of "making it big". Their future is inexorably tangled with that of Uber/Lyft/whoever. > Did I violate my own rights? Why don't I have the right not to make minimum wage? The structure of our society mandates that people work. There are generally more people than jobs (as evidenced by a permanent unemployment rate). Allowing some classes of workers to work for below minimum wage can depress wages, because workers without other options will have to accept those below-minimum wages. Then there's a risk it spreads once normalized. Imagine big box stores and fast food switching to 1099's. A lot of those workers won't have the option to just work for someone else for minimum wage, because they lack the skills to switch to a new vertical. They either work for less than minimum wage, or they don't work. The overarching idea is that it's better to take the right to work for less than minimum wage away to preserve a livable wage for people who won't have any other options.