Uber Drivers Plan Boycott After Fare Cuts Slash Their Earnings to Below Minimum Wage

[FrodosPet]

http://observer.com/2016/01/uber-drivers-plan-boycott-after-fare-cuts-slash-their-earnings-to-below-minimum-wage/

Drivers are rallying, pursuing lawsuits, turning off their app and even switching to Lyft

By Sage Lazzaro • 01/19/16 11:55am

When Uber cut fares in Washington D.C. last February, the Observer spoke to several drivers and learned the price reduction had left many scrambling to make ends meet. The move was a tactic by the multi-billion dollar company to gain ground in the taxi app war, but this customer perk came at a heavy cost to the company’s workforce. Now, following the recent fare cuts in more than 100 cities, Uber’s employees are being exploited nationwide, and to an even greater extent. Fares have been cut by as much as 45 percent in some cities, and while Uber is guaranteeing this will actually lead to larger earnings for drivers, the opposite has already proven to be true—drivers are reporting they’re making as little as $2.89 per hour.

“Yes, the rate cuts have affected my earnings. I am less motivated to go out and drive. Instead, I’m focusing more on my other business, which is already making me more money per week than I earned through Uber on New Years week,” one New Jersey Uber driver, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Observer via Facebook messenger. He added that the fare cuts have also reduced the level of customer service he provides. “I now do not wait over five minutes for a passenger to show up when I arrive, because I get $5 for a cancel fee rather than driving them three miles to get the same $5. I stopped offering bottled water to my passengers. If the passenger did not put in the correct pickup address I won’t drive unpaid miles to the correct address if they call me, I’ll just collect the cancellation fee” he said.

In Facebook groups for Uber drivers, many others have also reported not picking up passengers because their rides won’t turn a profit. “I generally accept all rides, and then cancel on the ones I am not willing to take. Before I cancel though, I send this text: ‘Due to Uber’s latest pay cuts in the Hampton Roads area, it is not financially possible to complete your ride request. Learn more here: tiny.cc/hr-uber,'” wrote one Virginia driver on Facebook.

~ snip ~

As outrage begins to grow, drivers have began protesting and circulating a boycott flyer online. At a protest rally in Philadelphia, Uber Black drivers announced a plan to sue the company over their status as independent contractors, which they say leads to unfair wages, according to Buzzfeed. Others plan to begin driving for Lyft instead, according to Mike Dean of Rideshare Report, who spoke to several protesting Uber drivers at a recent rally in San Francisco. There have also been large protest rallies in Houston and Tampa, among other cities.



~ snip ~

[SheilaT]

1. Why am I not surprised.

[msongs]

2. uber is just another sucking corporation trying to keep all the $$ for itself and not workers lol n

[Recursion]

3. The problem is the cab companies they are replacing are too

Yellow cab drivers aren't guaranteed minimum wage either; they're also contractors the medallion owner considers disposable.

I don't know. I agree with pretty much every complaint about Uber I see on DU, what I don't get is how cab companies are any better.

[Fuddnik]

4. I've worked for both.

I quit Uber after they slashed our rates for a third time in 6 months. You never have any contact with another human being at Uber, unless it's by e-mail, which takes days, and then your problem isn't even addressed.

A couple of arbitrary low ratings from jerks or drunks, and you're out of a job, with no way to appeal a low rating. And they expect you to provide beverages, at your expense to said jerks. You work for about $5.00 per hour, and tipping is not allowed.

Uber is the ultimate corporate parasite.

Also, medallion companies are basically in the car leasing business. They want that cab on the road, otherwise they don't make any money, thus, it's not in their interest to saturate the market, because if you're not making the money to pay your lease, you're not going to work there.

[FrodosPet]

8. A lot of conventional cab companies DO treat their drivers like shite as well

The good thing about Uber is, it is knocking some weak or poorly managed companies out of the business and making the rest step up, treat their customers better, and pursue new markets.

Meanwhile, Uber treats their drivers horribly - worse even than the crap cab company I drove with when I first started.

In any case, I hope and believe Sen Sanders can and will address the issues in the livery industry (conventional AND rideshare) when he is elected.

[rjsquirrel]

5. Waaaah

The poor little things.



F&$k Uber.

[Starry Messenger]

6. K&R

[Nay]

7. Well, well, well. How the worm turns. Most liberals could have told you that

you, as a driver, would sooner or later get really f***ed by a libertarian corporation. It ain't rocket science.