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FreakyHijiki Esq.Hamilton Nolan
4/19/16 11:27am
As someone living in the blast zone of the gig economy and makes a living as a employment lawyer, I can’t agree with this more.

The “sharing economy”, while utterly vomit inducing in certain ways (I.e. Their self righteous belief that their self-enrichment is a societal advancement), their core business is not the exploitation of the people who provide the actual value.

Uber, Luxe, Instacart, Postmates, TaskRabbit etc. are an entirely different story. The profitability of these companies is based primarily on legislators, Courts, Unions and the public uncritically. Swallowing the “They’re not employees, they’re *stupid jargon euphemism* #disruption” line of bullshit.

And, from the perspective of California Employment law: it is bullshit. It is such total, utter, complete bullshit. When I hear an attorney repeat that line, I want to explode in laughter. When I hear a non attorney repeat it, I either want to give them a hug and a lollipop or dismiss them with an eye-rolling, wanking motion, depending on the speaker. It basically is a litmus test for critical thinking skills.

I digress. Look, Unions are in the business of protecting workers. Uber is full of workers. Get crackin’. Politicians and the public expected Unions to lead on this issue. And plenty of people would love to see the Silicon Valley brought to heel on this issue. No time like the present, says me.
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  PlopFreakyHijiki Esq.
  4/19/16 11:56am
  Every company I’ve ever worked for has policies and terms which I have to accept if I want the job. I can say no. Same with Uber. The difference is with Uber I can choose when, and how often I work, and how. Its a lead gen platform more than an employer, and most drivers use it as an income supplement. It’s by design a highly flexible part-time entrepreneurial model. They’re not imposing unfair working conditions in any way.
  
  On the other hand, if they were smart, they’d offer supplemental services to help highly committed and ambitious drivers become better business people.
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  FreakyHijiki Esq.Plop
  4/19/16 12:20pm
  “A lead gen platform for entrepreneurs.” Oh. So you mean a franchise? And Uber is a mere franchisor and the drivers are mere franchisees? And Uber shouldbe treated and regulated as a franchise?
  
  Is this what you’re really saying? Seriously?
  
  This is what I mean when I say that Uber’s model is a litmus test for critical thinking skills.
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LeeedHamilton Nolan
4/19/16 11:12am
I pressed “Ctrl + F” for “Consumer” and found no results. Why don’t you mention how great Uber and Airbnb is for consumers? The whole goal of the economy is to serve customers and obviously those two companies are doing a great job at it.

Where are the articles that mention how Uber is a boon for minorities that had to endure years of blatant discrimination from taxis. Not one article at Gawker about that. No articles either on how Uber allows people to travel across arbitrary city lines, something that Taxis didn’t do. Or how the cheap rates of Uber created new demand for travel that didn’t exist before.
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  Hamilton NolanLeeed
  4/19/16 11:19am
  “The whole goal of the economy is to serve customers” - no.
  
  Is that you Mr. Uber?
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  LeeedHamilton Nolan
  4/19/16 11:22am
  How many economic classes have you taken? I’m going to guess you have taken 0 based on your posts on economics.
  
  Wealth is created by productivity gains and satisfying customer preferences. Both are things that Uber does better than Taxis.
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SmileyBurnerHamilton Nolan
4/19/16 11:06am
Airbnb users are owners - except in NYC where many are holders of rent stabilized leases - or other leases, so what happens is you have a neighbor using his apartment as a hotel, which brings strangers into your building, strangers who don’t care where they smoke or how much noise they make - also, in NYC, AirBnB keeps apartments warehoused so asshole landlords can make as much money as humanly possible off of every unit.Also, this idea that AirBnB units will pay cleaners $15 an hour is fanciful - we charge a cleaning fee for my GF’s upsatate home - but then do all the cleaning ourselves.
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  Hamilton NolanSmileyBurner
  4/19/16 11:12am
  The things you are saying are reasons why Airbnb needs to be regulated and have those regulations enforced, just like other businesses. It’s not primarily a labor issue.
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  PlopHamilton Nolan
  4/19/16 11:20am
  Im loosing track...do we favor institutions and big businesses, or dynamic/disruptive start ups that empower individuals?
  
  It occurs to me that households getting squeezed, having trouble getting may be using AirBnB and Uber to make more money for themselves.
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CatoUticensisHamilton Nolan
4/19/16 11:08am
The problem with this deal is that such an arrangement with Airbnb would undercut SEIU’s own members in NYC and SF by $9/hour. I’d also argue that the distorting effects Airbnb is having on the long-term rental market is of just as much concern as Uber’s exploitative labor model.
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  Hamilton NolanCatoUticensis
  4/19/16 11:20am
  Airbnb’s distorting effect on the housing market is certainly an important issue but it is not primarily a labor issue. It’s a housing issue. It’s addressed by enforcing regulation and in a broader sense by building more housing.
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  CatoUticensisHamilton Nolan
  4/19/16 11:31am
  Except that it is a labor issue. This movement is at its best when it is advancing the interests of the working class as a whole, and soaring housing costs are very much a part of that equation. Displacement of working class communities causes long commutes, which have negative effects on how people perform at work and can lead to workplace discipline for being late. That’s very much a labor issue.
  
  Besides which, unions can make a difference in this regard: look at what the ILWU did with the St. Francis housing co-op (http://daily.jstor.org/st-francis-squ…). And it still doesn’t change the fact that SEIU’s negotiating a deal that undercuts its own members along with the NYC Hotel Trades Council.
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Group B-raaaaaaaaaap!Hamilton Nolan
4/19/16 11:12am
Also worth noting: Airbnb has been at the forefront of creating safe spaces for the XXX Freakfest community. Truly doing God’s work.

http://gawker.com/man-unwittingl…
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  dothedewGroup B-raaaaaaaaaap!
  4/19/16 11:16am
  Without Airbnb I would have no place to hold my orgy. My parents aren’t cool with that kind of stuff at home. #Truth
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  Group B-raaaaaaaaaap!dothedew
  4/19/16 11:18am
  In their defense, Astroglide would absolutely destroy the microsuede sofas.
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howtocompensateHamilton Nolan
4/19/16 11:13am
Even though I hate airbnb for filling up my once-quiet neighborhood with illegal hotels, I see your point. However, it has to be said that Uber is also a good idea which basically needs to be more heavily regulated and taxed. In NYC at least, where both Uber and Airbnb have had an outsized impact, the existing political structure has been remarkably ineffective at reining in either company.
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  OhmysadBruinshowtocompensate
  4/19/16 11:42am
  Uber IS a great idea. So is Lyft.
  
  However, to the extent Uber is lo-cost because it shifts the costs and risks of its business to drivers and avoids regulatory and tax burdens on other ride services, it is not doing anything useful for our economy. We’re just paying fewer taxes and having more unregulated business (which may or may not be a good idea, but is irrelevant to Uber’s usefulness to society), and shifting costs from big corporations to powerless individuals.
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IkerCatsillasHamilton Nolan
4/19/16 11:11am
I’m curious about the idea that this would take away good hotel jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the hourly mean wage for cleaners working in travel accommodations is $10.93. If anything, it sounds like working for Airbnb would be better than for most hotels.
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  toxoplasmaIkerCatsillas
  4/19/16 11:13am
  Not the union deal. Airbnb is, itself, destroying hotel jobs.
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  IkerCatsillastoxoplasma
  4/19/16 11:14am
  Right. But it seems like these are better jobs.
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dothedewHamilton Nolan
4/19/16 11:15am
Distinct from these “gig economy” exploitation factories are the “sharing economy” companies like Airbnb, which focus more on unlocking the value of unused assets, like your house when you’re not using it. (Of course, Airbnb can encourage people to turn desperately needed apartments into unlawful hotel rooms, which makes the housing crisis worse; but fundamentally Airbnb and Uber are different. Uber drivers are workers; Airbnb users are owners.)

This is a very good point.
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  MidwestCoastBiasdothedew
  4/19/16 11:19am
  Mhm, my deep thanks to whomever Ham’s new tutor in economic nuance is.
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aprilphreshHamilton Nolan
4/19/16 11:18am
It seems like the Airbnb owner who needs to employ a cleaning person for his/her property is the person that isn’t doing Airbnb legally, at least in NYC. If I rent out a room in my apartment, I can handle cleaning it myself. However, if I’m letting out my entire apartment (which is not allowable), then I might book a cleaner. Is this really a smooth move on Airbnb’s part?
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raincoasterHamilton Nolan
4/19/16 6:31pm
I’d like to know where other than a union you can get a decent, trustworthy, and capable cleaner for less than $20 an hour.
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