O'Malley likes Uber but wants company's drivers and others in the gig economy to have benefits

[bigtree]

Martin O'Malley, says he likes Uber but wants the company's drivers and others in the gig economy to have benefits.


___In an interview with Bloomberg, O'Malley said he worries that people who are taking advantage of the digitally-enabled gigging economy to work for organizations such as the car-hailing service Uber are being left out when it comes to benefits. As evidence, he cited a story about a congressman who bragged about the economy's more than five years of creating more jobs, month over month. "Yeah tell me about it," a woman in the congressman's home district audience snapped back. "I've got three of them!"

"So people are working harder than ever, oftentimes at multiple part-time jobs, or as Uber drivers or the like," O'Malley said. "When people are working in the shared economy, they shouldn’t have to step away from the shared safety net.”

O’Malley sat down with Bloomberg in Altoona, Iowa, where he told an AFL-CIO forum he wants to do something about “shared security” for workers in the “so-called sharing economy.” O’Malley said his approach to that challenge was still a work in progress, but could include changes to programs like unemployment insurance and Social Security. He said he’s looking closely at an essay co-authored by two Seattle residents who helped push that city’s $15 minimum wage plan: venture capitalist (and O’Malley friend and contributor) Nick Hanauer, and Service Employees International Union international vice president David Rolf...

The venture capitalist and the unionist emphasize that the benefits would be:

-Pro-rated: Someone working a quarter of a full-time schedule would be owed a quarter of full-time benefits, rather than getting nothing because they’re not full-time;
-Portable: Benefits accrued at different part-time jobs could all be pooled together, and outlast the end of any particular gig, and
-Universal: Companies couldn’t dodge them by declaring people independent contractors.

That approach “made a lot of sense,” said O’Malley, and his could fall along similar lines.

O’Malley told Bloomberg he isn’t sure whether, as some drivers contend, they should be considered employees under current U.S. law. Asked if the laws setting forth who’s an employee need an upgrade of their own, O’Malley said they “probably” do. Asked if Uber is good for Americans, he answered, “Yeah, I use it. I think it is.” His rival Bernie Sanders has a different take, telling Bloomberg Thursday, "I am not a great fan of Uber - you can quote me on that."


read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-08-07/martin-o-malley-wants-a-safety-net-that-covers-uber-drivers

[Mass]

1. Finally somebody who tries to deal with the real world

We will not go back to the 1950s, and we do not want to go back to the 1920s. So, it is time to try to invent a new type of work, with benefits and rights for the workers.

[jonno99]

2. My guess is that most Uber drivers did not sign on looking for a benefits package...nt

[bigtree]

4. not sure what that means, but many drivers are arguing, suing to be regarded as employees

...so they won't be left out of requirements under the law to provide benefits.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In a crowded San Francisco courtroom Thursday, US District Judge Edward Chen postponed a ruling on the status of a lawsuit against Uber over whether drivers should be considered employees rather than contractors. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for November, but a ruling could be issued before then.

At issue is whether the suit can be widened into a class action, potentially raising the number of people suing Uber to more than 160,000 drivers. The case was originally filed by three drivers who say Uber wrongly classified them as independent contractors rather than employees, potentially keeping them from earning benefits, workers compensation and unemployment.

"Uber has made a decision that all 160,000 drivers in California are independent contractors," Shannon Liss-Riordan, the plaintiff's head attorney, said Thursday. "It said that across the board. So in order for there to be a real way for that issue to be addressed and vindicated is through a class action."

The case could have far-reaching implications. Whether three or 160,000 people ultimately sue Uber, the case questions the way Uber does business and just how valuable -- and ultimately successful -- the company can be. Should Uber lose the suit, the company would likely have to turn its drivers into employees, meaning they would be entitled to unemployment, workers' compensation and health insurance. They'd even have the right to unionize.

read: http://news.yahoo.com/uber-drivers-wait-bit-longer-022544721.html


For Uber, loyal drivers and a new fight for benefits

As Uber wages its battle to change Miami-Dade’s taxi laws and operate legally, it also has recruited a growing fleet of drivers happy for the quick cash that the car service brings. Now it’s facing a new skirmish: whether an ex-driver can collect unemployment insurance...

It’s a designation the San Francisco-based company is sure to fight, since it strikes at the heart of a business model that relies on freelance drivers jumping into the Uber network whenever they like. In Miami-Dade, the company is pointing to its economic impact as one reason elected leaders need to revamp outdated transportation rules and legalize app-based car services.

Peter Burton, an executive with the National Council on Compensation Insurance, said the McGillis claim is just the latest to test where the Uber business model falls in the spectrum of employment law. At issue is a range of added expenses for Uber, from having to pay unemployment insurance and Social Security benefits to paying a minimum wage.

“It’s an open question right now,” he said. “We’ll have to see where the wind blows.”

The big question is how much control Uber exerts over its drivers, who respond to fares using the company’s smartphone app. Uber claims the system is similar to freelance taxi drivers, who simply accept calls broadcast out from a dispatch center. Lawyers fighting Uber say the company’s termination policies and standards for drivers are extensive enough that an employer-employee relationship exists.

read: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article21599697.html

[jonno99]

6. I mean exactly what I said: my GUESS is MOST Uber driver didn't signup expecting benefits.

imho - if you want to be a full-time driver, join a regular taxi service.

Don't whine & cry and try to make Uber something that it isn't.

[bigtree]

9. I get it

...you don't give a damn about their benefits.

[jonno99]

10. It's not about me, and if you're not an Uber driver, it's not about you either.

If I go to McDonald's, I can't really complain that they are not like Burger King.

There is a parallel there - see if you can spot it...

[bigtree]

11. we get it

you don't care

[jonno99]

12. I get it -

everything must be "Burger King"

[frazzled]

3. It needs way more than that

It needs to be regulated in a number of ways that protect not just workers, but customers and the rest of society. It needs to be regulated for safety of its vehicles and drivers , for environmental impact, for pricing fairness.

Thousands of these vehicles are roaming our streets; we need to make sure that its drivers have had sufficient background checks and training and that they're not working hours that could impede their physical ability to drive safely--not just for customers, but for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vehicles on the streets. We need to make sure the vehicles are not creating undue emissions. We need to make sure that the pricing structure is predictable and fair to all.

This is a big business. It needs to be regulated like all big business. Sorry, Ayn Rand fans.

[bigtree]

5. good points

...more business related, than employee safety, health, or income related, but valid concerns.

[Bluenorthwest]

14. Actually discrimination and that sort of thing are not business issues, to be parsed out by the dime

in service to John Galt's Taxi. Leaving people in wheelchairs by the side of the road to save middle class shits a buck is not my idea of community.
The principle of equal access to public services should be sacred and expanding, not contracting so libertarians can turn short hop tricks with their Hondas.

[bigtree]

15. semantics

...what I'm saying is that there are employee related issues and issues related to business and customer concerns which are not the subject of this post about providing health, safety, and other benefits to workers.

Veering off on the discussion of the business itself is probably worthwhile and has 'good points' that should be addressed, but that's not the subject of this post which I think deserves its own debate and attention.

[FSogol]

8. I agree. Public transportation, even modern models of it needs to be regulated and safe. n/t

[dogman]

7. Medicare for all solves a major benefit.

And helps more than Uber drivers.

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Fuck Uber, I give them a bad rating for flouting disability rights under their libertarian me first

piracy plan. I think it sucks to allow a public service that serves only some.

[bigtree]

16. that doesn't appear to be a company policy

...but rather a problem the start-up has had with training and enforcement of drivers who violate their policy.

The ability afforded the company to treat its drivers as independent contractors also has the effect of insulating the company from responsibility for the driver conduct, in addition to the benefit issues.

It's not as if this service is likely to just crumble, so government and business need to come together to resolve all of the issues associated with the driver status.

Uber has online materials that say drivers are not to discriminate against passengers with disabilities. In a July 9 blog post, the company wrote it "expects" drivers to "comply with all state, federal and local laws governing the transportation of riders with disabilities." And any reports of discrimination could lead to a driver being deactivated from the service.

Uber has an online video tutorial for drivers that explains how to best assist people with disabilities. Uber

Plouffe said drivers also receive documents when they sign up for Uber that say discrimination is against the company's code of conduct.

If the lawsuits can show that Uber and Lyft exercise a certain amount of "control" over drivers, the companies may be forced to change the "independent contractor" classification. The types of control a judge may look at include whether or not the companies hire and fire drivers, provide drivers with specialized equipment and require any type of training.

http://news.yahoo.com/uber-doing-train-drivers-disability-132404711.html