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A Day Uber Goes Dark $UBER 💥💥

Trying to remember what 2005 was like? You might have a chance today. Drivers for ride-hailing companies Uber, Lyft, and others are planning to strike in at least eight cities across the country. The rallying cry: “Apps Off!”
The timing is obvious. Uber is just two days away from going public in what will probably be the biggest tech IPO since Facebook, valuing Uber as high as $91 billion. As execs and early investors cash out and go yacht shopping, drivers feel like they’ve been shortchanged.
The fighting words from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance:
  • “Wall Street investors are telling Uber and Lyft to cut down on driver income, stop incentives, and go faster to Driverless Cars.”
  • With the IPO, “Uber's corporate owners are set to make billions, all while drivers are left in poverty and to go bankrupt.”
The specific demands: Greater job security, a livable wage, and a guarantee that 80-85% of the fare goes to the driver.

Uber’s IPO is a landmark moment for the gig economy

Out of the ashes of the financial crisis, a new structure of “work” emerged—one that emphasized flexible, short-term contracts instead of full-time employment.
And the average Uber driver symbolizes both the promises and the pitfalls of that gig economy.
  • She’s able to drive whenever she wants, but she’s concerned about the stability of her job and the large cut Uber takes from her fare.  
  • And the future is no comfort, either. Uber and Lyft know that replacing human drivers with self-driving vehicles is their only path to profitability (Uber lost $1.8 billion last year).
Bottom line: Many questions cloud Uber’s mega-IPO, but at the top of the list is its rocky relationship with the drivers it can’t currently live without. That’ll be on full display today.

1 comment:

  1. Uber is by far one of the most genius companies of this generation. With that said, I also think it will also bring the demise of the driver. As more cars eventually become machine operated all of those jobs that they created will eventually disappear along with the drivers.

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