Posted on 05/19/2015 7:02:13 AM PDT by Kaslin
The cards are stacked against Uber. I will not be surprised when they lose.
Why should anyone participate in this idiocracy anymore?
And then Uber will shut down. And all of those Uber drivers who were demanding better pay will get zero pay. And then they will bitch and whine about not finding work.
Since this case will be heard by a California jury I’d say Ubed is toast.
Sorry Uber. Typo.
Uber is at a much greater risk from state government regulators who are being paid-off by mobbed-up cab companies.
“Uber’s Fate Is In The Hands of 12 People”
Headline is a bit misleading. If Uber were to lose a jury verdict, they would appeal. So their hands are either in the California Supreme Court or the US Supreme Court, or both. If California, than it would only apply to California.
The article refers to district court and a California judge so it is not clear whether this is in state of federal court based on the article.
I don’t know if Uber is a good thing or a bad thing. For the customer it is sort of good in that it is convenient, super fast (in the big city), and cheaper. It’s a bad thing in terms of safety. Who the hell’s car am I even in? I actually feel safer in an actual taxi. For the employee, it’s sort of good in that you have a job, and the more you hustle, the better car you buy (usually from Uber unless you have a suitable one), the more money you make... But it’s sort of bad in that you don’t actually get a tip which sometimes is a lot, and Uber doesn’t pay very much.
And I see the straight up legal ambiguities, and I don’t pooh pooh them as I would many stupid over-regulation laws. Because innocent people are trapped in a car with strangers who may or may not be under the umbrella of a company who feels responsible for the passengers. This is a tough one.
Well, as long as it doesn't say "AMTRAK" on the side, your odds are pretty decent.
You forgot to mention the part where Uber puts a gun to your head and forces you to use their service.
I don’t feel safer in a Taxi. I’ve had dozens of Uber rides and never had a problem. The cars have all been relatively new and clean.
This is a “tough one” only if you like big government and all the regulation that comes with it. If I want to get a ride from point A to point B, and someone is willing to give me that ride for a fee, why is it the government’s business?
If Uber says something like “be on duty by 9 AM on Monday”, then the driver is an employee. But if Uber says something like “work whenever you feel like it”, then the driver is an independent contractor.
There’s one point in Uber’s favor that isn’t mentioned in the article. The drivers are under NO obligation to respond to a request for a ride. No employer in his right mind would allow employees to decide if and when they want to work..
I've had several Middle Eastern taxi drivers in cities like Boston and Las Vegas, and pre 9/11, who scared the bejeebers out of me. Grunting unintelligible sounds, weaving in and out of traffic, and speeding.
From my limited experience on Uber, I certainly felt as safe or safer.
Have you ever even used Uber?
I hate taking taxis because the drivers stink, the cars are filthy and they don’t speak English well. In Uber, the driver is clean, polite and the vehicles are cleaner than my own. They also speak English and if you don’t want to talk they just shut up and drive.
I would suspect that the number of Uber drivers who prefer the status quo far exceeds the number who support this action. That was why it went to court and not some form of attempted unionization.
For the record: I have used Uber half dozen times and prefer not to use it in the future. But I support the premise of their business model, it just needs to be tweaked.
The way Uber controls drivers is quite similar to the way eBay and Amazon control sellers on their markets, or the way Apple controls App sellers. The model is used in countless places. This would make everyone who contributes labor to a clearing house type platform an employee. It goes way beyond Uber.
“In my humble non-lawyer opinion, only one question matters: Who determines what hours are worked?
If Uber says something like “be on duty by 9 AM on Monday”, then the driver is an employee. But if Uber says something like “work whenever you feel like it”, then the driver is an independent contractor.”
That would make every taxi driver in America an employee. The taxi companies are not going to like that.
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