Lyft and Uber say they will leave Minneapolis if the mayor signs a minimum wage bill for drivers::Lyft and Uber threatened to stop doing business in Minneapolis after the city council adopted a new rule Thursday that would set a minimum wage for rideshare drivers.

  • CustodialTeapot@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    You mean exist to ensure the underpaid actually get the legal minimum wage and to stop exploitive rich people from exploiting poor people?

    • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.club
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      1 year ago

      But it isn’t like a lot of taxi companies didn’t do the same thing to their workers.

      In most parts of the US, restriction of the number of taxis came from issuing a limited number of medallions. The owners of these medallions effectively became rentseekers, renting out their medallions to drivers. The system was rife with abuse.

      Part of the main issue now is that a lot of small rentseekers got taken over by two big ones.

      • nbailey@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        Uber & Lyft drivers assume all the financial risk and responsibility for their car payment, maintenance, insurance, cleaning, health and dental insurance, etc. You’ll find that once you factor in the externalities the tech companies push into their workers, they don’t necessarily make good money at all.

        • SCB@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          So do pizza delivery drivers and they make great money.

          • nbailey@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            They really don’t. When I was a pizza guy about ten years ago, after fuel & maintenance I would make the equivalent of about $12 USD per hour averaged over a month of full time work.

            And one big repair like your power steering pump can ruin the whole month. It’s a great way to “use up” the last of your car before you scrap it, but really not a sustainable job.

            • SCB@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Weird because when I was a pizza guy, I made more than I did as a teacher

              • Sendbeer@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                Well are you factoring in the costs to the automobile like they mentioned? As they say they are a hidden cost and can be quite considerable long term as delivering pizzas adds a lot of wear and tear on a vehicle. When I delivered a LOOOONNNG time ago the costs really did sneak up on me. It was a fun job, and initially I thought it paid well - till I got a couple surprises.

                • SCB@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  I’m vastly smarter than you, but no longer a teacher. Pay couldn’t keep up.

                  • themajesticdodo@lemmy.world
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                    1 year ago

                    Well, you did go get a degree that scored you a job that pays less than a pizza driver, so I have to assume that you’re actually not very smart at all. ;)

                    So long and thanks for the laughs. :)

          • ZodiacSF1969@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Ah yes, pizza delivery drivers are well known to be among the highest income earners. Up there with doctors, I believe.

            • SCB@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Good time to remind everyone doctors are overpaid due to artificial scarcity, because the ADA lobbies Congress to artificially limit the number of residencies, to keep supply of doctors low

              And I didn’t say pizza drivers were rich, I said they make a good living. They do.

              I made about $20/hr as a delivery driver, take-home, which put me above both what I made as a teacher (roughly 14/hr) and my next 2 jobs (e-learning developer, salesperson -16/18 respectively).

        • SCB@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Because it’s a custom minimum wage that only their companies have to pay, set arbitrarily to make shit like taxis more competitive.

          Yellow Cab fucking admitted in NYC that they only pushed the “Uber drivers make lower wages” rhetoric because they couldn’t compete, when in fact Uber drivers make what taxi drivers make.

          So now Uber just contracts out taxis, and gets their money anyway

          https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/business/uber-new-york-taxis.html

          But at least people have to pay more for rides.

          • Laticauda@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            How the hell does a minimum wage make taxis more competitive? That doesn’t make any sense. If uber drivers already make more than the minimum wage then a minimum wage would have no effect on that.

            • SCB@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              You should read the article, because it’s only a set minimum for those two companies, not a general min wage.

          • cubedsteaks@lemmy.today
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            1 year ago

            I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. I am in Portland and Uber & Lyft are so popular here that the cabs here mostly do medical transport for non-emergency situations. I use to be a dispatcher here for several years. All cabs did were go to various hospitals and doctor offices.

        • SCB@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          It’s weird that you think someone making more than 30-35% of the country is “poor”

          You’ll forgive me for not putting much stock in your “total guess” when you believe as you do.

            • SCB@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              A) it’s fun how I can tell you’re from a wealthy family

              B) all averages are calculated the same way. That’s what “average” means. It’s literally a method of calculation.

                • SCB@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  If I’d meant median or mode I would have used those words. Average is equivalent to mean.

                  Your link even says this, if you’d bothered to read it.

                  Mean: The mean is what you get by adding up all of the numbers and dividing by how many numbers were in the list. Most people think of the mean when they use the word ‘average’ in a mathematical sense.

                • SCB@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  No it’s just calling out the “rich progressive savior” mindset, and it’s always been derogatory.

                  • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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                    1 year ago

                    It’s sure neat how when centrists can no longer defend exploitative labor practices, they attack the person they’re talking to. Usually it’s with “You don’t understand how anything works” or “I assume you’re young and therefore wrong.” “I assume you have money and are therefore wrong” is a new one.

            • SCB@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Tell me you have rich parents without telling me you have rich parents.

              • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Tell me you expect people to pretend they’re not poor in order to validate exploitative practices of a massive corporation without telling me you’re a centrist.