Here is some of todays gig economy news September 14th, 2021:
- [Politico]: Dutch Uber drivers should be classified as employees rather than self-employed, a Dutch judge ruled on Monday. According to the judge, the legal relationship between Uber and the drivers “aligns with all the characteristics of an employment relationship: work, salary and authority.” Uber has employment authority through the app that drivers need to use. The ride-hailing platform will have to employ drivers in the country — 4,000 according to local media — and pay them by the rules of the collective labor agreement of the taxi industry… [read full article]
- [USA Today]: Uber charged me $98 for a ride in Los Angeles this March. But I only agreed to pay $20 for it. The system kept glitching when I was on the app. I denied all of the high offers and took the lowest. They also canceled two drivers who were under $20. Can you help me get a $78 refund, please?… [read full article]
- [WBUR Boston]: Warning that rideshare and delivery workers are toiling under low pay and lack workplace protections afforded to others, labor activists on Tuesday urged lawmakers to pass a bill extending collective bargaining rights to tens of thousands of app-based drivers. Legislation on the Labor Committee hearing (H. 1953 / S. 1224) docket Tuesday would require state government to create an industry council for transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft and workforce representatives to negotiate over wages, accident coverage, driver benefits, and anti-discrimination rights… [read full article]
- [Nation’s Restaurant News]: “In late 2020, in response to feedback from Uber Eats restaurant partners, we began testing new ways to offer even more choice and control over the fees they pay and the services they use when working with us,” Sarfraz Maredia, vice president U.S. and Canada for Uber Delivery said in a statement. “Designed with input from thousands of restaurants across the U.S., we’re excited to make these new pricing options available nationally.” Until now, Uber Eats said that they’ve historically offered the same pricing package and services for all operators, including food safety, marketing, technology, and customer service capabilities. Introducing this new pricing structure offers more transparency and options for restaurant customers that want to save more on commission fees and get fewer services in return… [read full article]
- [PYMNTS.com]: As restaurant aggregators compete to stand out in the crowded space, and with supermarkets pouring resources into setting their digital grocery offerings apart, Walmart is cutting out the middleman and heading straight for the top. The retailer is making a play to be consumers’ one-stop shop in the connected “Eat” category, meeting both their restaurant and grocery needs. This as Walmart just expanded its Canadian partnership with virtual kitchen solution Ghost Kitchen Brands to the United States. The first domestic in-Walmart ghost kitchen is in Rochester, New York, with 28 more locations in the pipeline. In a single shot, the move brings an array of a dozen cuisines and restaurant brands inside the retailer’s stores, while for Ghost Kitchen Brands, the pairing gives it access to Walmart’s unmatched foot traffic which averages about 3,000 in-store shoppers per day… [read full article]
- [QUARTZ]: Food delivery companies DoorDash, Grubhub, and UberEats filed a lawsuit against New York City Aug. 9 over the city’s cap on how much the platforms can charge restaurants to use their services. In response to the pandemic, the city first imposed the fee cap as a temporary measure to help restaurants stay afloat. But last month it was made permanent, prohibiting food delivery companies from charging more than 15% per order for delivery and more than 5% per order for all other fees (except for transaction fees). US restaurant sales are back to pre-pandemic levels, and the companies argue the price control is no longer related to a public-health emergency but “driven by naked animosity towards third-party platforms.” They claim it is unconstitutional because “it interferes with freely negotiated contracts between platforms and restaurants.” Left unchecked, the permanent cap will set a dangerous precedent, the companies said in the suit… [read full article]
- [Inside Sources]: When the concept of the gig economy was first introduced in the United States, it was meant to serve as a springboard for workers to make extra income as they recovered from the 2008 financial crisis. Offering some compelling benefits such as flexibility in work schedule and monetizing assets that were at their fingertips, it’s easy to see why the gig economy took off among American workers. But what was once a beacon for work autonomy has now met its fair share of challenges in the U.S. labor market. Yet even with the gig economy’s problems, U.S. workers still want to reap the benefits of what it was originally intended to be. Not to mention, now more than ever U.S. workers want flexible careers after the remote environment that was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. All hope isn’t lost as a new concept emerges that will better suit the needs of the new American workforce: The flex labor economy… [read full article]
- [Michigan Live]: A man taken on a harrowing ride before the 2016 shooting rampage by an Uber driver in Kalamazoo has filed a lawsuit against the ride-sharing company. Matt Mellen was taken on the dangerous ride by Uber driver Jason Dalton on Feb. 20, 2016, before Dalton went on to fatally shoot six people and injure two. Attorneys Frank Melchiore and Matthew Cooper filed a lawsuit Sept. 10 on behalf of Mellen against Uber; Raiser, a technology subsidiary of Uber; and Dalton. Dalton, now 51, was sentenced to life in prison in February 2019 for eight felonies related to the shootings. He is currently in prison in Manistee County, per Michigan Department of Corrections records. Mellen had requested an Uber ride around 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2016, and he ended up getting Dalton as his driver. The drive was terrifying, the lawsuit said. Dalton was “running red lights, crashing into other vehicles, committing crimes — including kidnaping, falsely imprisoning and battering of (Mellen),” the lawsuit said. Mellen escaped from the ride and immediately tried to contact Uber to report Dalton’s unsafe driving, the lawsuit said. Mellen and his girlfriend tried to contact Uber’s 24/7 response team for more than an hour. The goal was to get Uber to deactivate Dalton following the dangerous driving, but Uber did not deactivate him before he was arrested after shooting eight people, the lawsuit said… [read full article]
- [KULR8.com]: As riders return to Uber and Lyft platforms, the inevitability of accidents will also be on the rise. LegalRideshare, the only firm entirely dedicated to accidents and injuries, sheds light on what Uber & Lyft drivers, delivery drivers and gig workers should do in case of an accident. The top 4 steps include: #1) Ensure the Safety of All Passengers: Verbally confirm the safety of passengers to ensure that they have not sustained any major injuries as a result of the accident. #2) Obtain Passenger Information: It is crucial for drivers to obtain their passengers’ full names and contact information. These individuals are witnesses and can offer unbiased evidence as to the facts of the crash and the liability of the drivers. #3) Call the Police: Call the local police department to file a police report. This report should include the facts of the accident, the positions of the cars involved, and the actions and statements of any individuals involved in the incident. #4) Seek Medical Attention: Drivers who lack health insurance may be hesitant to seek medical treatment, due to financial constraints. Law firms like… [read full article]
- [Sun Sentinel]: An early Sunday morning run for a Lyft driver turned into a terrifying ordeal in Boynton Beach when the driver collided with a man on a motorbike. Lyft driver Tevin Kimbugwe jumped out and checked on the man on the motorbike, then raced back to check on his fares because the Lyft car had hit a tree… [read full article]
- [TechCrunch]: There are some obvious examples of infrastructure systems needing immediate, prioritized attention (see the Sidney Sherman Bridge in Houston, which had to be shut down a few years ago for a corroded bridge bearing and was recently classified as “structurally deficient”). Fortunately, there is another massive statistic out there that can help: 216 million. That is the approximate number of U.S. adults that own a smartphone. Pew Research Center recently found that 85% of all U.S. adults own a smartphone, which, needless to say, is the highest it’s ever been. Even enlisting just a small percentage of the 216 million smartphone users out there can help immensely with this task. Federal, state and local governments can and should consider the awesome (and relatively inexpensive) power of our smartphones and the gig economy. Gig workers can be enlisted to use the smartphones that they already own to provide inspection data and photographs of the key identified roads, bridges, dams and rails in the 50 states. The data and photos they collect can then be instantly transmitted to a national database for review and evaluation by professional engineers and consultants… [read full article]
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