
Uber, Lyft Poised to Lose Fight Against CA Bill to Label Drivers Employees - drkimball
https://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-lyft-poised-to-lose-fight-against-california-bill-to-label-drivers-employees-11568069041?mod=rsswn
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jbarberu
I don't understand why the term ride-sharing is even used when talking about
Uber and Lyft. Has anyone ever gone with a driver who wasn't just driving an
unlicensed cab? Or is it referring to multiple riders sharing one car?

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tenebrisalietum
All the Ubers/Lyfts I've used (between 30 and 40 as rough estimate) are people
in what looks like their own cars. There's never been any cab insignia
anywhere on them.

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jbarberu
Unlicensed cab as in: driving people from point A -> point B with the purpose
of making money, without having a taxi license.

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birdyrooster
The opponents of this bill claim that they would need to institute shifts. Why
so? Why can't they just be part-time employees with flexible schedules?

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rockinghigh
If all drivers are employees and all show up to work at 10AM when there is
little demand, you can’t pay all of them minimum wage. The companies would
have to predict demand and ask just enough driver employees to match the
demand.

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ergothus
Why does "employee" equate to "show up at 10AM" ? Why cant they work the same
hours and style they do now, but with the title of "employee"?

That's an honest question, I know employment laws are complex and likely didnt
include these concepts, but I'm also interested in facts over speculation.

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birdyrooster
You are correct. They could. This comes down to offering a minimum income to
people who work for Uber and Lyft and giving them benefits that they would
otherwise never qualify for like paid health insurance.

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carlmr
While I like better prices through competition, I think the employees should
be treated fairly.

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Gibbon1
At some point the race to the bottom to exploit workers has to stop.

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villgax
So all freelancing companies also should follow the same route?

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Traubenfuchs
With the kind of freelancing you are probably referencing, the deal is that
you get a much higher hourly rate with the drawback that you have less long
term job security and need to actively manage your engagements, contracts,
taxes, etc.

Ride sharing drivers usually get less money than "normal" drivers, to the
point where legislators around the world want to protect them.

