# We need to unionize



## Miggy (Jun 25, 2015)

I know this has been said before. I know nothing has come of them before. But this is something that is clearly needed. We are thousands. We should be calling the shots. Its really very simple:

Uber and Lyft compete over passengers but they also need to compete over drivers. Something I don't think enough drivers have noticed. We need to band together and pit one company against the other in order to get what we need.

What I believe we need to get these companies to agree to (Remember I'm from NJ so I only know the problems we face here):
- Higher rates at least 1.25 per mile (Here in NJ its .85) and .25 cents per minute (.15 here in NJ) - Obviously this would be different state by state and city by city some of the larger cities like NY and LA can call for higher rates
- No more harassment over ignoring passengers. There are many reasons why we do this and we are not employees we are sub contractors it is our right to do so 
- No more rate changes without consulting the union first.
- Lower percentage they take. Uber takes 20% from me and I'm hearing they are starting to do 25% from new drivers.... for what? They do nothing and have no overhead."
- Here in NJ going into the city is aggravating, we can not pick up in NY and it takes 30-40 minutes to get out of NYC so we can get back to earning. We need a 10 extra surcharge to drop off in NYC and our rate per minute and mile should jump up as soon as we enter NY in case we have to drop off upstate NY and then have to drive an hour back

Unions need funding to do the things they do:
I know we are all struggling to make ends meat. which is why I call for donations not union fees. I don't like fees. Perhaps in the future once we actually accomplish making it so that drivers are earning better pay we can talk about a small fee to help pay for the Union reps time and office. Pay for lawyers to help us in legal battles and so on. But I think this fee could be as little as 1-5% of pay preferably on the lower end of that spectrum. But for now it would be donations to help fund the union to help pay for the time of the guys going out there and fighting for your rights. 
I believe a website should be set up that shows how much money is donated and exactly where it is all going. There would be legal stipulations that the money is to be used for the Union so that no one can take the money and run without seeing a class action lawsuit. 

I'm sure there are some issues I haven't thought of and we can talk about those. But we need to unionize we need to get thousands together. 
I would like to start with the NJ drivers and NY drivers and then start moving into PA and CT and keep expanding this union with a union rep in each state to help fight for the drivers per state by state basis. Of course thats because I'm here in NJ if any other drivers want to start in their states thats awesome too and we should help each other do so. We should be one big union with union state divisions under it. Also I would like to see a Rider owned rideshare app one day. Something this Union can help bring about.

So who's with me on this? Lets do this


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## Miggy (Jun 25, 2015)

BTW idk why it says I'm a new member. I've been driving for 10 months and have seen my wages decrease consistently while I drive more and more.


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## MarcG (Feb 12, 2016)

Seems as though you're all alone on this one..


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## Realityshark (Sep 22, 2014)

Miggy said:


> So who's with me on this? Lets do this


Do it. You're in charge.


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## uber strike (Jan 10, 2016)

i know that uber is just an app. uber has zero cars. we have the power to fight and make demands on uber and overcome, but we will never beat uber collectively as long as there are drivers willing to drive for chump change. you can only beat uber individually. or else uber will beat you. how? by not giving uber your car for cheap rates. either find a job or wait for surge and work surge only. refusing to drive for cheap rates is the only way you can beat uber. as time goes on maybe enough drivers will refuse to drive at these rates and uber will restore the rates. then you can come back.


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

I'm in!!!!!


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## RichR (Feb 12, 2016)

uber strike said:


> as long as there are drivers willing to drive for chump change


Bingo! And one man's chump change is another man's beer money.

Ridesharing has opened up the taxi business to hobbyists. Hobbyists don't require a "living wage." The time when a person could expect to make a good living driving passengers around town are coming to an end.


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## DatShoGuy (Jan 25, 2016)

None of us could afford to pay union dues


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2016)

Miggy said:


> I know this has been said before. I know nothing has come of them before. But this is something that is clearly needed. We are thousands. We should be calling the shots. Its really very simple:
> 
> Uber and Lyft compete over passengers but they also need to compete over drivers. Something I don't think enough drivers have noticed. We need to band together and pit one company against the other in order to get what we need.
> 
> ...


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

RichR said:


> Bingo! And one man's chump change is another man's beer money.
> 
> Ridesharing has opened up the taxi business to hobbyists. Hobbyists don't require a "living wage." The time when a person could expect to make a good living driving passengers around town are coming to an end.


There's no such thing as "hobbying " for uber. I suppose if the rates were 0, you'd still be driving for uber because it's a hobby to you.


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## RichR (Feb 12, 2016)

ChortlingCrison said:


> I suppose if the rates were 0, you'd still be driving for uber because it's a hobby to you.


You suppose wrong. Uber is only one of my hobbies that happens to bring in some money. In fact, the challenge of maximizing my profit is one of the things that I enjoy about it.


> There's no such thing as "hobbying " for uber.


Oh, really, what makes you think so?

If you haven't seen it already, you might want to check out the long, currently-featured thread about driving for Uber as a hobby, with plenty of input from both sides.


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

I nominate Rich to be the union rep. All in favor!!!!


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## uber strike (Jan 10, 2016)

RichR said:


> Bingo! And one man's chump change is another man's beer money.
> 
> Ridesharing has opened up the taxi business to hobbyists. Hobbyists don't require a "living wage." The time when a person could expect to make a good living driving passengers around town are coming to an end.


here's another creep that does uber as a hobby


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

It's par for the course. It'll be interesting to see if he has a rap sheet, that somehow uber conviently overlooked,.


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## uber strike (Jan 10, 2016)

ChortlingCrison said:


> It's par for the course. It'll be interesting to see if he has a rap sheet, that somehow uber conviently overlooked,.


no rap sheet. just a creep that does uber as a hobby. you don't have to have a rap sheet to commit crime. the uber murderer had no rap sheet.


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

uber strike said:


> no rap sheet. just a creep that does uber as a hobby. you don't have to have a rap sheet to commit crime. the uber murderer had no rap sheet.


 That might be true in this case, but there have been cases where the uberbackgrounds failed to recognize them. That's why uber doesn't require fingerprint checks. They can sign up alot more drivers.


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## Realityshark (Sep 22, 2014)

RichR said:


> Uber is only one of my hobbies


Damn Son, feed the homeless, read to blind people, volunteer at retirement homes. Your hobby consists of making a few axxholes rich, while destroying your car. Get a grip.


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

Realityshark said:


> Damn Son, feed the homeless, read to blind people, volunteer at retirement homes. Your hobby consists of making a few axxholes rich, while destroying your car. Get a grip.


 I think richie's been brainwashed into thinking that driving uber for almost free is helping out the community.


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## Miggy (Jun 25, 2015)

Lol glad to see some interest in this post. I'm looking into starting a Union or Association getting a website up and the such.

For those of you who say "We can't beat Uber collectively" Either you are an Uber plant meant to cause discouragement or your extremely ignorant about how things work

The chump change argument is legit but flawed. If the group goes out there contacting these drivers getting them to join us I think it would lower the amount of people driving for chump change.. who wouldn't want to make more money by simply joining a group. I'm not calling for strikes I know we all have to eat just calling for collective bargaining. 90% of negotiations happen without strikes. Don't let nay sayers discourage us 

I saw someone say they can't afford Union dues... I agree which is why I call for donations in the beginning until we can get Uber to start paying more in one way or another. I mean we are thousands if 5000 drivers donate 10 bucks a month thats 50K a month more than enough to pay for lawyers union reps offices advertisements so on and so forth


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

The new york unions were fighting over the right to unionize us until they agreed to wait for the lawsuit. When we win the lawsuit it will all come together as unions finally get to fight to become our union. Just wait it out.


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## phillipzx3 (May 26, 2015)

Unions are for workers, not an independent contractor. If you want to join/form a Union, you best get Uber to classify you as an employee first.

Can you imagine the laughter the owner of a plumbing or electrical business would get by his employees if he asked to join THEIR Union? 

You want to join a Union? Become an employee.


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## Tequila Jake (Jan 28, 2016)

phillipzx3 said:


> Unions are for workers, not an independent contractor. If you want to join/form a Union, you best get Uber to classify you as an employee first.
> 
> Can you imagine the laughter the owner of a plumbing or electrical business would get by his employees if he asked to join THEIR Union?
> 
> You want to join a Union? Become an employee.


This is exactly correct. If it were legal to unionize, you wouldn't have to raise a dime. The big unions would be crawling all over each other to get the right to represent us.


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## David Pickett (Nov 2, 2015)

So, being independent businessmen, we need a guild not a union? Many occupations have guilds or other authoritative associations, which create and enforce standards.

I wonder if I ever graduate to the earlier-guys rate? I get 25% outside the insurance/booking drop that is all to Uber/Lyft.
====================================================================
Uber in much of NJ is charging a sharply reduced rate of $1.05/$0.85/$0.15 per drop/mile/minute but with a minimum fare of $5.60,, booking/insurance fee of $1.25.

For me, Lyft considers the nearby parts of NJ as Phila, where they charge $1.13/$1.10/$0.18 with a $5 minimum, $1.55 booking/insurance fee.

In Phila, Uber charges something very like the Lyft and old Uber NJ rate, $1.25/$1.10/$0.18 with a $5.25 minimum, $1.25 booking/insurance.

Cancellaton is $5 for all.
====================================================================
Since I do both, I might just Lyft this weekend in support of the Uber "strike".
====================================================================
I just got an email from coworker.org "3978 Uber employees on Coworker.org":

We noticed it's your first time using Coworker.org. Our platform is home to hundreds of thousands of people who work for some of the world's largest employers. Together, our users are winning large and small changes inside their workplace.

Coworker.org users have succeeded in changing company dress codes, increasing wages, and improving scheduling practices. What would you like to change at work? If you've got an idea, consider launching a campaign.

*Our records show that many of your co-workers are already using Coworker.org.* Below are the latest stats on your Coworker.org employee network:

*Employer*: Uber

*Membership*: 3,978 current employees using Coworker.org

You are on this list because you signed "Better treatment for Uber drivers"

*Did we get something wrong? *Click here to update your user profile.









This email was sent by Coworker.org | You can unsubscribe from future emails at any time.
Start your own campaign to improve your workplace
==================================================================
They have a campaign for Uber:
https://www.coworker.org/petitions/uber-be-fair-increase-fares


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

phillipzx3 said:


> Unions are for workers, not an independent contractor. If you want to join/form a Union, you best get Uber to classify you as an employee first.
> 
> Can you imagine the laughter the owner of a plumbing or electrical business would get by his employees if he asked to join THEIR Union?
> 
> You want to join a Union? Become an employee.


Well first we have to see how the employee..classification lawsuit turns out in Calif first. In Seattle they've already unionized.


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## Stefan Karl (Mar 31, 2016)

UNIONS WILL SCREW IT ALL UP TRUST> 

If you are close to your 100 trips and make an effort the last night of the month but do not hit 100 by midnight; email Uber and ask for extension, explain you are trying and that you need this to function next month; if your rating and acceptance is HIGH they will give you two additional weeks to hit 100; which then bumps you through the end of the next month. UBER IS A GREAT COMPANY if you COMMUNICATE your issues and let them know your working hard. Having a 4.97 with over 300 rides helps too. 

THEY ALSO PUT "X "AMOUNT IN ADDITIONAL DRIVER BONUS ON MY CARD 3 WEEKS AFTER THE FACT. 

Get over 4.95 ALL THE TIME:

1) Offer Bottled Water
2)Offer Aux 
3)Offer Multi-Phone Charger
4)Offer 2 kinds of gum (sweet, mint)
5)Off Standard Mints
6)Offer Dispensable Sanitary Tissue
7)Have Air Freshening System (I have vents fresheners, under the seat, Ozium Gell Under Seat and in cup holders, and powered atomizer from Amazon in Glove Box and Center Console, also keep a can of Citrus Smelling Air Freshener in center console out of sight of PAX, and never acknowledge to PAX you have system)
8)Always pull front PASS seat ALL THE WAY FORWARD TO give PAX ample room (I have 2012 Camry and they feel like they have tons of room)
9)IT'S UNCOMFORTABLE but move your SEAT UP ANYTIME a PAX SITS BEHIND YOU even if they are short.
10)Always Make sure that the route on your NAV/GPS is good with them
11)Always ASK BEFORE TURNING ON MUSIC (unless its a weekend low is okay depending on the PAX)

12)PURCHASE ILLUMINATED UBER SIGNS FOR FRONT AND REAR OF CARS GLASS to help PAX IDENTIFY YOU, they are on AMAZON, UBER SIGNS LOOK BEST IN BLUE, and come with controls to flash on TURN SIGNS OFF AFTER PICKUP TO MAKE PAX FEEL SPECIAL 

13)ACCOMADATE ADDITIONAL STOP AND FAST FOOD STOPS

14)NEVER ACCEPT A TIP FIRST SHOT, but 3X can be rude, gage your PAX 

ALL OF THIS WILL ALSO EMPOWER UBER TO "SET YOU UP" 
I MAKE NO LESS THAN $25 NET WHEVER I GO OUT even if its a $12-15 time period
ACCEPTANCE RATES NEED TO BE 98-100% FOREVER, GO OFFLINE if your not ready to accept a 10 MILES PICKUP and go to the airport, lol.


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## Deathmate (Feb 18, 2016)

No way to get a union until we are actual employees or the Unions would have been all over us by now.


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## Miggy (Jun 25, 2015)

uberdriverfornow said:


> The new york unions were fighting over the right to unionize us until they agreed to wait for the lawsuit. When we win the lawsuit it will all come together as unions finally get to fight to become our union. Just wait it out.


I'm confused. What is there even to fight about in the courts, they literally can't stop a union by law? What will this "NY union" do for us and what will they ask for from us? I'm sorry but I'm tired of waiting. We unite now under union or association and tell uber and lyft no more


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## Miggy (Jun 25, 2015)

Deathmate said:


> No way to get a union until we are actual employees or the Unions would have been all over us by now.


Can be an association


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## Miggy (Jun 25, 2015)

Stefan Karl said:


> UNIONS WILL SCREW IT ALL UP TRUST>
> 
> If you are close to your 100 trips and make an effort the last night of the month but do not hit 100 by midnight; email Uber and ask for extension, explain you are trying and that you need this to function next month; if your rating and acceptance is HIGH they will give you two additional weeks to hit 100; which then bumps you through the end of the next month. UBER IS A GREAT COMPANY if you COMMUNICATE your issues and let them know your working hard. Having a 4.97 with over 300 rides helps too.
> 
> ...


Bugger off bud. I do way more than 100 trips with a high rating... what does a 100 trips have to do with anything anyways we are not paid by trip we are paid by mile and minute


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

Miggy said:


> I'm confused. What is there even to fight about in the courts, they literally can't stop a union by law? What will this "NY union" do for us and what will they ask for from us? I'm sorry but I'm tired of waiting. We unite now under union or association and tell uber and lyft no more


There are specific protections given to employees when trying to unionize that you don't have when you are in independent contractor. The first is the right to be protected against termination for trying to join the union.

This is what Seattle did, they wrote a law that specifically protects independent contractors so that they can unionize. That's what happened in Seattle. I'm sure you heard about the "first in the nation" law there recently.


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## David Pickett (Nov 2, 2015)

OK, unions and union laws are for employees, and we are not employees, so an association or guild to lobby both for favorable laws and to press for better terms. Uber should not be writing all the laws. Someone should be pressing for the Drivers (what about Riders?), like an Ombudsman.

Consider all the good work The National Motorists Association (NMA, motorist.org) does to improve conditions for all drivers. It has State Chapters/Chairmen to focus on local issues and laws. It lobbies and organizes public support/opposition as needed.


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## David Pickett (Nov 2, 2015)

It'd be nicer if they just pinged the nearest single driver! It'd be nice to have more driver-friendly app features. We need a organization pressing our interests!


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## Stygge (Jan 9, 2016)

Stefan Karl said:


> UNIONS WILL SCREW IT ALL UP TRUST>
> 
> If you are close to your 100 trips and make an effort the last night of the month but do not hit 100 by midnight; email Uber and ask for extension, explain you are trying and that you need this to function next month; if your rating and acceptance is HIGH they will give you two additional weeks to hit 100; which then bumps you through the end of the next month. UBER IS A GREAT COMPANY if you COMMUNICATE your issues and let them know your working hard. Having a 4.97 with over 300 rides helps too.
> 
> ...


This is sarcastic, right? Ha ha. It is funny.

Seriously, no riders care about any of that. They also 1* you for whatever reason. This is what to follow if you only care about your rating.
1. Don't ask riders to put seatbelt on
2. Don't insist tiny kids need car seats
3. Don't follow speed limit, red lights or any other traffic regulations
4. Always allow as many riders as they can physically squeeze in
5. Always allow smoking/drinking/drugs in your car

Good luck with your rating dude.


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## Miggy (Jun 25, 2015)

David Pickett said:


> OK, unions and union laws are for employees, and we are not employees, so an association or guild to lobby both for favorable laws and to press for better terms. Uber should not be writing all the laws. Someone should be pressing for the Drivers (what about Riders?), like an Ombudsman.
> 
> Consider all the good work The National Motorists Association (NMA, motorist.org) does to improve conditions for all drivers. It has State Chapters/Chairmen to focus on local issues and laws. It lobbies and organizes public support/opposition as needed.


Yes the more I look into it the more I realize its an association we need not a Union... Seems like we're on the same page though David.


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

Unions and strikes are not what drivers need. We've all seen that most/all of the attempts to boycott uber came up well short of the mark. As much as I'm loathe to admit it, I think the regulators need to step up and force uber to comply instead of being intiminated by the uber lobbyists. If uber/lyft threaten to leave a city, then let them.


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## Miggy (Jun 25, 2015)

ChortlingCrison said:


> Unions and strikes are not what drivers need. We've all seen that most/all of the attempts to boycott uber came up well short of the mark. As much as I'm loathe to admit it, I think the regulators need to step up and force uber to comply instead of being intiminated by the uber lobbyists. If uber/lyft threaten to leave a city, then let them.


I'm not calling for strikes or boycotts... because we need to earn we need to pay bills.... My strategy would be more along the lines of:

A - Join up all the drivers and pit Uber against Lyft... They are competing with each other over passengers with is what is driving prices and our earnings down. But if they also have to compete for drivers it will balance out the earnings back to something more realistic for us.

B- If they somehow band together and decide not to listen to us giving us no choice other than to keep using them. Then we can pool our money together and create a new Driver owned app... I mean if every driver donated 20-30 bucks that would give more than enough to create a new app and advertise it. It would be owned by all the drivers collectively and only take a very small administrative fee. No more than 5% less if possible. Where all the administrative money is going would be up on a website for all to see. Any money not used would be voted on wether to roll it over to next year use it on ads or return to the drivers


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## David Pickett (Nov 2, 2015)

Well, we are OK with the *threat* of boycotts and strikes if we get our way and we are not killing the golden goose. In a contract situation, there should be give and take to make the contract mutually satisfactory. Uber cannot be unilaterally trusted to hear or accurately imagine our voice, interests.


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## Miggy (Jun 25, 2015)

David Pickett said:


> Well, we are OK with the *threat* of boycotts and strikes if we get our way and we are not killing the golden goose. In a contract situation, there should be give and take to make the contract mutually satisfactory. Uber cannot be unilaterally trusted to hear or accurately imagine our voice, interests.


Agreed 90% of negotiations happen without a boycott.


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## MattStone (Jan 29, 2016)

They wont unionize out here. The drivers out here seem to think Uber is God. It sucks too because the rates are 80/mile and 16/minute with a 3.20 minimum. This does not work in a state as slow and spread out as mine. I have yet to make more then $340 a week.


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## oscardelta (Sep 30, 2015)

Uber/Lyft should be a stop-gap between jobs. There is no way to make this a viable long-term financial solution. I don't care if you "only drive surge." Can you honestly see yourself doing this 10 years from now, based on what the experience has been like up to this point?

I agree with the poster who said that the only thing that will get Uber/Lyft's attention is the prospect of being shut down in a municipality. Individual drivers are being brought on board every day to replace those who are dropping out and those drivers continue to demonstrate a willingness to drive for below minimum wage. Small groups of individual drivers protesting will continue to be ignored because there appears to be no shortage of people to replace them.

The only thing keeping many municipalities from pushing Uber/Lyft out of their communities is the popularity of these rideshare companies among their constituents. If a city council votes to shut them down, they will have a difficult time being re-elected with that on their resume.


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## David Pickett (Nov 2, 2015)

Even so, having a lite unionish association would give all drivers, new, potential and old, more reassurance that they will not be abused by the virtual monopoly.


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## BobDriver (May 2, 2016)

It would be easy to get uber to listen to us if we got together and organized. We just have to think outside the box. There have been many times when workers organized and won when many said it couldn't be done. I have personally been involved in a few of those occasions. One time it was part time workers when it was said part time workers could never have a union On time as an independent worker and not a classic employee. 
Uber and their supporters have a multitude of excuses why we can't do it. Of course they do. But it is bullshit. We could do it and will someday.
What is the alternative?


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## David Pickett (Nov 2, 2015)

We are living the alternative, and envisioning a better life, better business for both the co and the workers.


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## RichR (Feb 12, 2016)

BobDriver said:


> ... We could do it and will someday. ...


Not a chance. Too many obstacles.

Uber is a scorched-earth business model. When the supply of new drivers starts to dry up, Uber will cash out. They might even start their own "competition" (same business, different name) to lure disgruntled ex-drivers into doing it all over again.


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## starryplow (May 11, 2016)

Hello,

I just joined this site. I use pulse frequently but it appears there are more people here. I have put together a few collaborative online resources (a mightybell network, a slack channel, a trello board) towards the end of organizing on-demand workers. Right now I am working alone but I hope to work with anyone else interested.

I realize this is a hot button issue and people are entrenched on all sides, but I think we can all agree that a "union" paid for and set up by Uber --as is being worked on at this moment in new york-- would do tremendous harm.

Please message me if you are interested.

Thank you


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## David Pickett (Nov 2, 2015)

A union-like organization would have to be electronic and out of the hands of Uber/Lyft, and money/power corrupts, so that is a challenge. Getting people to pay dues to support, even a pittance, is also a challenge. Then there are the right to work (union busting) state laws against closed shops, and maybe other laws.


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## @earth_to_jen (Feb 1, 2016)

https://uberpeople.net/threads/what...l-class-action-settlement.78297/#post-1081455

Possible way to circumvent union/union dues is to do what Uber does, blow up regulators and elected officials email on a given day. Should be pretty easy to do. This site has everyones email. Site administrators could send a link to email to be directed to whoever, governors, senators, city commissioners as long as they approve the message. And advise all drivers if they agree with whatever the message is to send it out on a certain time and day. The FTC or governor of a state getting 200,000 emails from uber drivers on a given day cheaper & more effective than union?

Good idea for everyone to set up a dummy email address or administrator possibly could set up a [email protected] to be used just for email bambs. Sign email name withheld for fear of deactivation. Anonymous but effective.


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## Jim A (May 7, 2016)

NY is starting a union. Granted they're calling it Independent Drivers Guild. All this talk about forming a union of independent drivers got me thinking of how the Teamsters first started.


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## ColdRider (Oct 19, 2015)

Lol. Unions


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## CLTUberPissed (May 22, 2016)

To all the people putting down the idea of a union...what else do you propose? Or are you one of those bottom feeders that would do this for free if it came down to it? Let's hear it...

The reality is that Uber drivers forming a union is the ONLY way we get some say as to how things run around here. Just think of all the political clout unions have. If Uber doesn't listen to us then we force cities to pass tougher regulations on Uber that will end up costing them millions of dollars. You don't think Uber would meet our demands then? Think again...


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## gofry (Oct 20, 2015)

David Pickett said:


> Even so, having a lite unionish association would give all drivers, new, potential and old, more reassurance that they will not be abused by the virtual monopoly.


I'm no Uber fan (I quit months ago because it is not profitable) but they are hardly a monopoly. To be that, Uber would have to be the only employer/contractor that you could work for in the world.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

You would need to gain the right to collective bargaining. You could probably form some sort of association. Talk to the AFL-CIO perhaps. TNC drivers should be as interested and active at communicating their needs to state representatives and legislators to the degree that Uber and Lyft feel obligated to lobby them. You can't compete with them in terms of spending, but you can be heard and you have a vote.....


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## Fireguy50 (Nov 23, 2015)

No Deactivation without Representation!


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## thelittleguyhelper (Aug 6, 2016)

ChortlingCrison said:


> There's no such thing as "hobbying " for uber. I suppose if the rates were 0, you'd still be driving for uber because it's a hobby to you.


Boy are you wrong. Most Uber drivers, factually speaking, are part-timers that maybe do 1-2 hours at a time, with no intent or interest of making any more of it.


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## thelittleguyhelper (Aug 6, 2016)

Fireguy50 said:


> No Deactivation without Representation!


You're fighting the first amendment here, among other things (e.g. Constitution forbidding impairment to obligations of contracts, fundamental right to contract, free associated, and to disposal of property). Uber is, in essence, a communications platform (or platforms) and as such there are few serious, legitimate avenues without attacking some seriously fundamental and cherished natural, human, legal, and civil rights in America, for politicians to do jack shit about them choosing not to allow you to communicate over their platform.

Just sayin'.


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## Huberis (Mar 15, 2015)

thelittleguyhelper said:


> You're fighting the first amendment here, among other things (e.g. Constitution forbidding impairment to obligations of contracts, fundamental right to contract, free associated, and to disposal of property). Uber is, in essence, a communications platform (or platforms) and as such there are few serious, legitimate avenues without attacking some seriously fundamental and cherished natural, human, legal, and civil rights in America, for politicians to do jack shit about them choosing not to allow you to communicate over their platform.
> 
> Just sayin'.


That is all fine and dandy. There is nothing preventing so called independent contractors from stepping up to the plate and working towards having the kind of agency associated with such a status. They are not able to act as independent contractors.

The idea of a union seems inappropriate, they surely can associate formally.

TNC drivers would also need to hold themselves to the idea that they need to come out of hiding in relation to regulation.

The TNC industry is working with regulators, at the expense of drivers when deemed needed. Drivers need to be involved to that degree.


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## thelittleguyhelper (Aug 6, 2016)

Huberis said:


> That is all fine and dandy. There is nothing preventing so called independent contractors from stepping up to the plate and working towards having the kind of agency associated with such a status. They are not able to act as independent contractors.
> 
> The idea of a union seems inappropriate, they surely can associate formally.
> 
> ...


You are FAR further-along toward getting it.


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## d0n (Oct 16, 2016)

uber strike said:


> here's another creep that does uber as a hobby


I lost all faith in Uber the day a friend of mine got accepted with an "Assault with a deadly weapon to a pregnant woman".


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## Peanut hello (Sep 19, 2016)

d0n said:


> I lost all faith in Uber the day a friend of mine got accepted with an "Assault with a deadly weapon to a pregnant woman".


This guy didnt know no better,I wonder where his brain was.


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## Peanut hello (Sep 19, 2016)

uberdriverfornow said:


> The new york unions were fighting over the right to unionize us until they agreed to wait for the lawsuit. When we win the lawsuit it will all come together as unions finally get to fight to become our union. Just wait it out.


Union wont happen ,drivers come and go everyday ,so do you really think rideshare company will allow a union to exist?


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

Those unions hmmmm.


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## medusa (Dec 25, 2016)

uber strike said:


> i know that uber is just an app. uber has zero cars. we have the power to fight and make demands on uber and overcome, but we will never beat uber collectively as long as there are drivers willing to drive for chump change. you can only beat uber individually. or else uber will beat you. how? by not giving uber your car for cheap rates. either find a job or wait for surge and work surge only. refusing to drive for cheap rates is the only way you can beat uber. as time goes on maybe enough drivers will refuse to drive at these rates and uber will restore the rates. then you can come back.


The ludicrous situations that Uber ( and other) alternative transport companies claim that they are NOT a transport service just blows my mind. Clearly they do not just rent the app to you. THAT woudl be more in line with the bill of goods they are trying to sell. Blame your local council persons that bought this pile of s---. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...its a freaking duck. Uber not only maintians and frequently change the app for the service , THEY set the rates, THEY have pay control, THEY maintain the right to disallow you to drive based on whatever tangent they would care to choose, THEY maintain a scoring system and clearly state that you will risk driving should your score drop below a certain point.. The drivers in every city should file class action suits to break the back of companies like this before they try and turn totally automated. ( personally I don't think that will sell very well) They have a system that is nearly impossible to keep track of as well as accounting for the way they process their information. A friend of mine got cheated for an approx $30.00 loss for a trip that was some 60 miles away. That sorely begs the question How the hell do they calculate the fees? They also have these daily/weekly incentives that really are so perplexing and makes it more diffcult to keep track of earnings as well as being guilt of doing somewhat of a bait and switch ( read the fine print) type of activity. My recommendation is to install a cellphone monitoring app that records all the activty that comes across your phone and keep them for staying up to date on your expected earnings and stay abreast of cheating. I also recommedn install driver cams to protect your a-- against problematic riders. Uber also doesn't show "pool" rides anymore on the app call. Clearly Uber is not the driver's friend. They are the main reason for the destruction of local minucipal taxi services and have become the vampires of local people just wanting to find work. The councilpersons have become Uber's pimps.


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## Tippy711 (Apr 14, 2017)

What is this guy Standing kidding me? Offer " two kinds of gum?" Offer mints? Purchase an illuminated sign? Purchase a aux cord? Purchase dependable napkins? Never accept a tip on the first try? Then Uber will be empowered to "set you up?" What the fuhck does that mean? Ubers never going to "set you up" no matter what you do. Maintain a 98-100 acceptance rate? This guy's definitely an Uber troll in the forum. My acceptance rate is 36% and has been so for two years, I run a 4.8 without providing the pax with anything but a good safe ride.
You think I'm gonna reach into my pocket and buy an illuminated sign on " my" car.
The real kicker is when he said go offline if your not ready to accept a ten dollar ride to the airport. First of all I would never go offline because I would lose my destination filter, for some reason they only give you two per day. But that line is straight out of the Uber playbook. They send me emails every day about going offline when I'm not ready to accept trips.
And how did he know it was a ten mile trip to the airport if the destination doesn't come up on the request screen.
Be careful what you read here, Uber is all over this forum and I'm pretty sure by his comments Stafon is working with Uber.


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## David Pickett (Nov 2, 2015)

Miggy said:


> I know this has been said before. I know nothing has come of them before. But this is something that is clearly needed. We are thousands. We should be calling the shots. Its really very simple:
> 
> Uber and Lyft compete over passengers but they also need to compete over drivers. Something I don't think enough drivers have noticed. We need to band together and pit one company against the other in order to get what we need.
> 
> ...


No need for paid stooges, stockholm feudalism creates free ones. At best, it's a case of "Don't kill the golden goose," i.e., fear of change, funny when living on the bleeding edge of technologically induced change.


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## Safe_Driver_4_U (Apr 2, 2017)

unions are obsolete in light of current TNC technology, steel mill or auto factory, yes unions feasible. What we need is a driver owned TNC, with revenue sharing, completely cut out the VC vultures and the entitled elitist. The organizing incorporating declarations can be better protections for drivers than anything a union could provide. .....but you have to be a thinking person to understand this post... so.


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## Doggie238 (Oct 22, 2017)

Miggy said:


> Lol glad to see some interest in this post. I'm looking into starting a Union or Association getting a website up and the such.
> 
> For those of you who say "We can't beat Uber collectively" Either you are an Uber plant meant to cause discouragement or your extremely ignorant about how things work
> 
> ...


Miggy,

Great thread you started!! We are the reps, we don't need to hire them. My name is Tom Naue. I am a retired teamster and currently drive for LYFT&UBER.

Organization begins with us. You are positive and have the right ideas. UBER&LYFT have the money and the APP, we have the cars and the drivers. Not one rider has been driven to his destination by $$$ or an APP.

Call me anytime 224-423-4012

Let's get this thing started.


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