Finally tried Uber...Not Shabby

[RandySF]

I've resisted trying Uber for the longest time until I was stuck in a spot with no public transportation or taxi service. I broke down, tapped the app I added to my phone for such a contingency and summoned a car. I rode during an off-peak time so the total fare was actually less than a cab. I also had the good fortune of encountering a pleasant driver. I want to support our taxis as much as possible, but it's good to know Uber work in a pinch.

[Travis_0004]

1. Glad to hear it was a good experience.

Personally, as long as uber exist Ill never set foot in a taxi.

[RandySF]

8. I don't like their peak pricing.

[scscholar]

2. That's sad

You could have supported someone trying to take care of their family instead of just some guy with a car.

[Skittles]

3. I am no fan of Uber but

how do you know the "guy with a car" is not trying to support a family?

[fizzgig]

4. what else was he supposed to do?

did you bother to read the actual post?

[JI7]

5. you think uber drivers are well off types ?

[RandySF]

6. There was no available taxi at that spot

It was a last resort.

[Demonaut]

11. I drive Uber and Lyft...to support my family

[FLPanhandle]

36. Which one pays you best?

I use both but would love to hear from a driver which is better

[Demonaut]

49. they pay about the same, more rides with uber so I should make more but I get many $4 rides

on uber which makes it disheartening after a few hours...you cannot make a decent living on these apps

[Mojorabbit]

12. Most uber drivers are doing so. nt

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

15. Oh look, another poster with an Andy Kaufman gimmick n/m

[Recursion]

19. What, like medallion cab drivers have it any better than uber drivers?

You've bought into the medallion owners' astroturfing there. Cab drivers are 1099s just like uber drivers.

[Iggo]

31. Read.

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. What do you think uber drivers do?

[YouDig]

7. People have different opinions, but Uber is definitely useful. Same with AirBnB and the

rest of the "usual suspects." There has to be a way to regulate this stuff to stop abuses but keep the convenience of it.

[egalitegirl]

10. Regulations should be for corporations, not people

People should not be regulated. Once you regulate people, they end up becoming corporations. Labor unions used to be how workers associated freely for collective bargaining rights. Now labor unions are just another form of mega corporations that control the supply of labor and which are run by white people who exploit minorities by forcing them to pay membership dues. Check out the labor unions and you will see what I'm saying is true.

[teamster633]

13. "exploit minorities by forcing them to pay membership dues"

WTF? If I wasn't on a tablet I'd go further but, suffice to say, we don't have an Ayn Rand group on DU.

[egalitegirl]

22. You misunderstand me

What I mean is you are not permitted to start your own labor union in many states but have to join the unions designated by the establishment politicians. I am not calling for abolishing unions but for expanding the rights of workers to create labor unions.

[Major Nikon]

14. what's true and you appear to have parted ways some time ago

[yortsed snacilbuper]

16. My union dues were $15.00 a month,

best bargain I ever got!

[ismnotwasm]

21. WTF?

[egalitegirl]

23. Please see reply 22

I may not have articulated it well. Please see post 22 where I have explained the issue.

[Major Nikon]

25. Post 22 is even more perplexing

[egalitegirl]

28. You cannot unionize but have to join an existing union

Let me explain. You cannot unionize in several states but can only join one of the designated unions. Recently, Seattle passed a law that required Uber drivers to join one of the unions APPROVED BY THE GOVERNMENT.

They put forth so many conditions for a union to be approved that people of color cannot form their own unions but have to join one of the unions operated by white people. One of the conditions was prior history in union leadership. They always use this trick to keep out people of color.

These big unions also want to play by "free market" rules and want exemption from minimum wage laws. This is outrageous. We cannot form our own unions but have to join the unions run by rich people and pay them membership fees but they will not represent us and instead argue for no minimum wage just like corporations argue for no minimum wage.

Right here on DU, we had people cheering the free market competition. They didn't care about the plight of the working class.

[Major Nikon]

32. You have a very poor understanding of how unions work

A union is the exclusive bargaining agent. That's exactly what a union is, both literally and legally.

A union can't be "APPROVED BY THE GOVERNMENT" unless they have a democratic system of selecting their leadership. So if you don't like your union leaders, vote them out.

Regardless of what you think, unions aren't some kind of vast conspiracy against people of color. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

[egalitegirl]

33. You have very low amount of information

Unions *are* approved by the government. The original intent of unions was for the members of the working class to come together and form a body to bargain better deals.

Today, it is run by folks who belong to the one percent and have never lifted a finger to work and have MBAs or law degrees from Harvard and other top ranked universities. Even these degrees are due to legacy. I take it that you have never attempted to organize workers and have never heard of the plan to exempt unions from the minimum wage laws.

[Major Nikon]

34. Strawman gibberish doesn't help your argument

I never claimed unions weren't approved by the government. That's exactly what the mission of the National Labor Relations Board is. If you don't understand the process, you might want to learn if your goal really is to organize workers. I can assure you whatever you think I have attempted or not is quite wrong along with what you think you know about who actually runs unions.

[egalitegirl]

37. Yes you claimed governments can't approve unions

You claimed governments cannot approve unions. And yes, I have been part of a team that tried to organize unions in the sincere belief that unions are created by workers. That is when we learned that unions are not created by workers but by rich allies of the politicians. The politicians pass laws to ensure that the wealthy people controlling the unions will be the only ones to control workers.

Many of these wealthy people have no understanding of the local issues and run the organizations like CEOs of corporations by sitting in ivory towers in NYC. They also get paid megabucks like the CEOs.

Just curious. Are you a Hillary supporter or a Bernie supporter?

[Major Nikon]

38. Do you think you can just make nonsense up as you go along and not get called for it?

I never claimed anything remotely of the sort as it would be utterly fucking ignorant. I even reiterated exactly the opposite in my last post and you just pretended it never happened.

Assuming any anonymous claims are believable, I suspect the reason you tried and failed to actually organize people has quite a bit to do with your failure to understand how the process works. The federal government certifies unions for a very good reason that has everything to do with protecting workers.

Virtually every union local affiliates with much larger unions for all sorts of very good reasons, none of which include control of the locals themselves. Locals are the ones that negotiate with management for safety, working conditions, pay and benefits.

Unlike you I actually was a union organizer for decades, so please don't try to school me on processes that you obviously have zero experience with, because you just aren't going to be all that convincing.

Just curious. Are you actually a Democrat? The reason I ask is because you aren't the first person to join DU and immediately voice "concern" about unions and voice support of racial divides. Believe it or not, many before you have tried and just didn't last that long before it became painfully obviously what their real end game was.

[egalitegirl]

39. We are progressives

We are the real progressives. I have heard the same arguments related to unions that you have given. People like you need to protect people like us because we are too stupid to run unions. In our experience, it is always white men talking down to women and minorities in this manner.

[Major Nikon]

40. Yes, well I've also heard your same arguments from looneytarians

You were already pegged pretty well. Nobody is buying what you are selling.

[egalitegirl]

43. You a white male?

That would explain your arrogance.

[Major Nikon]

45. No. I suspect you are though

You just aren't that convincing. Enjoy your stay.

[egalitegirl]

46. You the guy who denied the wage gap between men and women

Sad post in which you denied the wage gap between men and women.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1114&pid=12711

It is in this thread that you mention you are a man. Never mind.

[Major Nikon]

47. Comprehension isn't your strong suit either I see

First of all, you didn't ask if I was a man. You asked if I am a white male and I am not.

Next, I have never denied the wage gap between men and women and have reiterated as much on many occasions, including the one you referenced.

Your true motives are just as transparent as your strawman bullshit.

[teamster633]

51. Still stuck on a tablet but I feel compelled to add...

...that in the 38 years I 've been in a union, the only one who has exploited me is my employer...and not nearly as much as they would have were it not for the union.

[egalitegirl]

60. Are you an office holder in the union?

Your id suggests you are part of Teamsters 633. Are you an office holder?

[teamster633]

64. No.

But I've been a dues paying member since I was in high school.

[Major Nikon]

9. I just don't feel that much loyalty to cab companies

It's not as if they treat their employees that great, the condition of the vehicles are often horrid, and treatment by their drivers are often very shitty. When I get a cab in pretty much anywhere else in the civilized world the cars are clean, I get courteous service, and I generally don't have to worry about getting scammed.

[Recursion]

20. That was the weird thing about the Uber wars on DU: "Uber isn't even a job! They're 1099s!"

Just like every. single. medallion. cab. company. in the country.

[egalitegirl]

61. Nothing weird because they offer flexibility and supplemental income

More than anyone else, women need flexibility in job schedules and we want to be able to choose our schedules. We do not indulge in linear thinking and working from morning to evening without doing anything else is more suited to men who think in a linear manner.

Uber offers this flexibility and we see that men are ones who want to make it into a regular job. Forcing the entire world into the male method of working is the result of patriarchy.

[Kilgore]

53. I agree

I have lots of cab ride horror stories, and a few where I thought arriving alive was a 50/50 possibility.

Have never had a bad Uber experience. If Uber is available, I take it.

[FLPanhandle]

17. I love Uber

Use it all the time. Taxis can compete but they will have to match the service level of Uber first.

[Quantess]

18. Hello I'm all alone and

apparently the only ride I can get home is from a convicted sex offendder.

[Demonaut]

24. so you've painted me as a convicted sex offender...ignorance knows no bounds

[Major Nikon]

48. ...

Law banning sex offenders, felons from driving taxis would force cab company to lose half their drivers

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/08/proposed_law_banning_sex_offen.html

[alarimer]

26. Uber is a horrible corporation.

Run by a libertarian piece of shit that exploits the workers. By labeling them as "contractors" they are not liable for anything that they do, or pesky little details like insurance.

I hate Uber and all of those "disruptive" companies. I think they are a return to the era of unregulated capitalism which is something we should not be encouraging.

[RandySF]

27. They must be doing something right

The Sanders campaign uses Uber all the time.

[FLPanhandle]

30. Taxis can compete but they have to upgrade their service and cars

Without competition, taxis have become a horrible experience. I'm glad Uber is forcing taxis to upgrade their cars, make sure their drivers are pleasant, and they are reliable.

[Major Nikon]

44. Commercial insurance is part and parcel to Uber's partnership with drivers

Virtually all taxi drivers are treated as independent contractors by the companies that employ them. Most are actually required to lease their taxi and pay permit fees to the cab company as a condition of their agreement.

[Recursion]

62. You know cab companies also do that, right?

By labeling them as "contractors" they are not liable for anything that they do, or pesky little details like insurance.

Which is also why yellow cab drivers are labeled as "contractors". Both insure their drivers, though.

[DesMoinesDem]

29. I've never had an Uber ride that wasn't far superior to a cab.

[Octafish]

35. Are they unionized?

Detroit used to have the Taxi Workers Alliance, but they got busted by the private fleets. Perhaps Uber will show them their last days, too.

[Major Nikon]

41. Actually the reverse is closer to reality

Traditionally the vast majority of taxi drivers have not been unionized which is a trend that has only recently reversed. So whether Uber was a catalyst for that or not is anyone's guess, but it certainly defies the claim they are the antithesis of taxi unions.

[Recursion]

63. There are no taxicab unions in the country. Zero.

By which I mean: there are no taxi drivers that have collective bargaining agreements with the medallions. Zero. There are some "unions" (which are actually contractor organizations) in a few cities, but they don't negotiate pay or benefits. AFL had to actually change their rules to let them affiliate (they include, incidentally, Uber drivers who wish to join), but it's still not a comfortable fit because by that rule change a Chamber of Commerce could theoretically affiliate. It's particularly troubling because some of the "union" members are owner/operators who also lease out their medallion when they're not driving, which means the "union" also represents management.

[DesertRat]

50. I've used it multiple times in different cities

It's always been a pleasant experience, and much cheaper that a taxi.

[Jake Stern]

52. Let's see. . . .

Call a taxi and wait over an hour for a car that smells like it hasn't been cleaned in years and pay $20 plus tip for the privilege?

Oh and did I mention the cabbie bitching all the way to my destination about how this isn't his part of town?


Or tap the Uber app, have a clean car arrive within minutes with a friendly driver who drives me home for $8-10?

Haven't used a cab since I first used Uber.

[Nye Bevan]

54. You forget to mention the rude taxi dispatcher barking at you when you phone for the cab,

and then being rude to you again when you call back after the cab hasn't arrived in the promised 15 minutes.

[Jake Stern]

57. The reason I downloaded the app in the first place

was the taxi company. Phoned for a cab and they told me a driver was dropping off a fare two blocks away. Five minutes, tops the dispatcher said.

Well I called 20 minutes later and the dispatcher gives me an "I dunno. Not our problem".

The rest is history.

[Kilgore]

56. Or the time the taxi arrived and the floor was covered in vomit?

In comparison, last time I took Uber the driver had a dustbuster in the front seat to clean up between fares. He was an immigrant from Ukraine who was very proud of his "business" who praised the freedoms he enjoys in the USA.

Tipped him well in cash and had a smile on my face........much better than vomit on my shoes.

[Jake Stern]

58. Hailed one in DC and when I got in the seat was

wet and the car smelled like urine. Can definitely empathize with your vomit coated journey.

[Kilgore]

59. You win

Yuuck!!

[meaculpa2011]

55. I've been a freelancer for more...

than three decades.

I left the Fortune 500 in 1980 and I've supported a family and kept home and hearth together without the security of a regular job.

It's not for everybody, but those who seek to restrict our choices do so at their own risk.