Uber Is Treating Its Drivers As Sweated Labor, Says Report (theguardian.com)

Uber treats its drivers as Victorian-style "sweated labor", with some taking home less than the minimum wage, according to a report into its working conditions based on the testimony of dozens of drivers. From a report on The Guardian: Drivers at the taxi-hailing app company reported feeling forced to work extremely long hours, sometimes more than 70 a week, just to make a basic living, said Frank Field, the Labor MP and chair of the work and pensions committee. Field received testimony from 83 drivers who said they often took home significantly less than the "national living wage" after paying their running costs. The report says they described conditions that matched the Victorian definition of sweated labor: "when earnings were barely sufficient to sustain existence, hours of labor were such as to make lives of workers periods of ceaseless toil; and conditions were injurious to the health of workers and dangerous to the public."

Comments

pump n dump scam

[TiggertheMad]

They are hemorrhaging billions annually, so eventually they will implode and the problem will solve itself. If they actually manage to achieve their goal of a monopoly on the transportation market, they will just get nuked with the Sherman anti-trust act.

I think they know this, they are just a big pump n dump scam for early investors.

Re:"Feel forced?"

[SvnLyrBrto]

And I'll still choose Uber over a Cab at, or even above, taxi prices. I've been using them since they called themselves "Ubercab", only offered the town car service, were only available in San Francisco, and were, yes, more expensive than a taxi.

Why? Because Uber drivers show up where and when they are dispatched. They will pick you up in the avenues (The Sunset and Richmond districts.), and don't throw a hissy fit when you need to be driven out there. They don't play the "my credit card reader is broken, cash only" scam. And their cars are clean, well-maintained, and don't stink of smoke, vomit or pee. None of the same is true of cabbies.

The only reason Uber, Lyft, and the like were able to catch on is because the legacy taxi companies offer an appallingly dismal service. They made their bed. Now they can lie in it. And I'll go on using the superior service; even if the price goes back up to what it was before they introduced UberX.

Re: "Feel forced?"

[Motherfucking Shit]

Do you know how much gross shit you consume under the guise of an "A" rated restaurant?

I do, and that stuff happens even with the threat of a health inspector randomly showing up at any time. Imagine the shit that would go on if the regulations disappeared.