Work Reform

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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.

Our Philosophies:

All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.

Our Goals

Higher wages for underpaid workers.
Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
Better and fewer working hours.
Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.

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Lyft and Uber say they will leave Minneapolis after city council forces them to pay drivers more (apnews.com)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Lyft and Uber said they will cease operations in Minneapolis after the city’s council voted Thursday to override a mayoral veto and require that ride-hailing services increase driver wages to the equivalent of the local minimum wage of $15.57 an hour.

Lyft called the ordinance “deeply flawed,” saying in a statement that it supports a minimum earning standard for drivers but not the one passed by the council.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Like, in Seattle, I’m taking Lyfts and Ubers for ~$35 for a 20 minute drive. They could pay their driver $16 to cover the minimum wage for the full hour and then they still have OVER 50% of what I pay. Like, it’s such simple business economics. Why can’t these big corporations figure it out? I hope they get taken over by local services that actually pay their workers.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

They would only need to pay the driver 1/3 of the hourly wage for your 20 min ride so 5.3 dollars. Uber/Lyft would make 29-30 dollars.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

That's assuming the cars always have a fare on board - one truth of running a taxi is that there's a lot of downtime when you don't have a customer.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I don't know the economics, truly, but there are a LOT more expenses involved in running a large business like Uber on top of driver wages, such as technology service and hardware costs, programmers and central admin/customer service, rent or cost of buildings including utilities, insurance, taxes, fees, consulting and auditing, cybersecurity, legal, and probably quite a bit more I can't think of. Running a business is friggin expensive.

Definitely not defending paying workers less, just trying to explain why they still might not be in the black even in your scenario.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

They shouldn't even exist in the space since they skirted regulators when setting up. It's like if the pirate bay set themselves up as a legitimate business.