Why Is Everything Turning Into Uber?

[@nathanfielure4305]

This quote pretty much sums up how capitalism financialized everything for profit. _“Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. Something interesting is happening.”_

[@showcaseSampa]

You forgot to mention Uber also does not own the operating licenses that enable its drivers to take fares. The license itself is , or was, far more valuable than the vehicle itself. It's a known fact they bribed public officials to look the other way.

[@showcaseSampa]

@@brianadlich4406 Will do. Name sounds familiar. Both adjectives have a nice ring.

[@otakubullfrog1665]

It's not really a new idea. McDonald's doesn't own most of it's restaurants and Marriott doesn't own most of it's hotels. The franchising model allows a corporation to collect money for the use of their branding from owners who shoulder the risks of actually operating the business. Uber isn't really a taxi company, but a franchisor of tax companies. Somebody who just put a sticker on their car that says "Joe's Taxi" would have a much harder time attracting business (especially at first) than they would with a Uber sticker, so a lot of people are willing to trade a cut of their earnings and control over their pricing for that Uber sticker.

[@nathanfielure4305]

@@otakubullfrog1665 Watch Michael Hudson explain the difference between Industrial Capitalism(China) and Finance/Late Stage Capitalism(US). I wasn't suggesting anything new but a pervasive for profit society. Human well being and environment should be the center of economy not profit or money. Economy exists because of people not the other way round.

[@showcaseSampa]

@@otakubullfrog1665 It is misleading to assume the relationship Uber x Drivers is similar to one of exiting between Franchisor and prospective Franchisees. Using the driver for hire example first... Apples and Oranges. Taxicab Medallion holders do charge rent for the use of their licenses, as just as franchisors might charge in either real estate of franchise fees, within the scope of franchised operation. Then, there is a controlled territory, which is what a traditional Franchisor might then offer to prospective franchisees. In the case of the Taxicab Medallion, restricted territory takes the shape of a limited number of issued Medallion Licenses available within a Municipality. Increase of such licenses or granting of new licenses is subject to a Board evaluation. In the case of a brick and mortar Retail Franchise, the Territory might be then defined by how many stores the franchisor will grant to a confined demographic area. Meaning some market might have as many stores as the local market might bear. Uber does not curb or cap the number of operators it will take under its system. For reasons related to turnover or simply because they want to flood the market to become as ubiquitous as possible, they saturate the market with drivers. Therefore, Uber has no semblance to a Franchised Operation. Digital Sharecropper System is more like it.

[@Paint_The_Future]

I study at a Canadian college. Some of my instructors are "contractors". It's Uber but for higher education. This "gig economy" really is just a big reset button on labour rights.

[@monsieurdorgat6864]

Hilariously, I think this economic model was invented in universities earlier. Contracted instructors are very common. Because they couldn't possibly slash pay to their researching profs who fucking suck at education and don't give a half shit about their students. That's where the patents and cheap research happens.

[@birdiewolf3497]

Oh they've been doing that long before uber.

[@geobot9k]

@@monsieurdorgat6864 After covid nothing can convince me work and workplaces shouldn't be owned and controlled by the workers themselves and hierarchies should all be made horizontal. The only sane way to do work is if we're ALL coworkers in each workplace, no "bosses" Hearing some professors talk about the behind the scenes bs is what got me thinking about this

[@CarFreeSegnitz]

@@geobot9k Worker co-operatives! The amazing thing is that the only thing standing in the way of far more worker co-ops is peoples’ imaginations. We’ve been stuck in exploitive boss-worker arrangements for hundreds of years that few can even imagine a worker-owned, boss-less business.

[@monsieurdorgat6864]

@@geobot9k Oh, absolutely. There's a reason why educated peoples are overwhelmingly left-leaning. They try very hard to create an environment that's hostile to the lower classes in academia. One of my favorite colleagues has guillotine earrings, something I'm increasingly vibing with. Something has to be done with the wealthy elite.

[@PrettyPrincess9609]

My brother is working two jobs and does Uber during the weekends because his roommate moved out and inflation. I don’t work Uber but I am currently working two jobs because of inflation. My first job is full time and my second job is part time. I plan on quitting my first job because my job refuses to give us raises yet they keep adding on more work to us. My job even had the nerve to tell us they could have paid us less and we should be grateful for our pay. Im currently looking for a higher paying job. A lot of these jobs are creating negative environments and threatening their employees so that they can get more labor without giving raises.

[@melindagallegan5093]

And in the age of the internet, it’s those toxic employers that will be left without workers!

[@nil981]

This is the end result of capitalism

[@TheJadedJames]

They basically have us by the balls for as long as we need to eat and sleep

[@d.e.b.b5788]

Former middle manager here; in the mid 1980's, our company instituted a policy of basically keep increasing the work load until the workers quit, and only then when hiring a new employee, decrease the workload, plus we would save money on paying the new worker less. Also, the employee evaluations? Never give a good evaluation, because 'there's always room for improvement'. Then of course the workers were no longer considered human, with the change of the department from 'Personnel', to 'Human resources', so management wouldn't feel so bad for treating workers like disposable stuff to be thrown out after being used up. We also had to lie to workers telling them that we couldn't afford to pay them another cent, while paying the worker next to them who just got hired MORE than he got, just in order to fill the job. I hate executives who treat workers like crap. I went back to school and became a nurse, that way at least I could help people instead of screw them over every minute of work.

[@toddbridges7430]

I’ve a friend who as a grade school teacher is required to lead off hour( unpaid) extracurricular activities for the kids. Her whole life is consumed by the job.

[@shadowfluffylion8291]

My dad was an Uber driver. Now he is a stay-at-home dad since he decided to rest a bit, and obviously everyone in my family supports him in that decision. He had to work from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week (Sometimes he worked more hours because of the stupid thing that Uber did where if you took a certain amount of passengers in a limited time they paid you slightly more). My poor dad always came home exhausted, and all he wanted to do was sleep.

[@Network126]

I was a full-time Uber driver living in my dad's kitchen, going insane from the lack of personal space and privacy. Now I'm homeless. Even after getting a real job and working hard for months. Everything just keeps getting worse and worse.

[@Nabee_H]

@@Network126 Damn bro, that tough but you have to keep going. As I like saying, if you have nothing to lose then you have everything to gain.

[@Nabee_H]

My dad is the same, hes 53 and doing Uber along side working in a Pizza shop. He likes it but I wanna see him achieve his goal of owning a successful restaurant one day. Recently my older sisters have started paying my mom rent (even though its like 200/month) which have lightened the burden on him a little, but when in a year when im 18 i'll work my a*s off to get rid of that burden from him, I wanna see him open a restaurant. I have a lot of plans I've been brewing from a young age :)

[@Vsnyder2]

@@Nabee_H where the fuck you live that rent is only 200 a month?

[@Nabee_H]

@@Vsnyder2 It isnt, our mortgage used to be 2000 CAD then we moved now its 7000 Canadian Dollars... They never took my advice, the old house was almost paid off but because they wanted a bigger one they thought they could handle the burden of a 1.45M dollar house.

[@wvu05]

I am a Caseworker, and I have seen plenty of applications for benefits from people working Uber. I was shocked out how little they actually make.

[@tgcid2018]

Working for instacart I'm lucky to make 120 dollars in a day, and I'll usually have to work at least 6 hours to get it. Then of course at least a quarter of whatever I made goes to gas.

[@oshikiri999]

​@@tgcid2018I mean...$120 in 6 hrs is ballin NGL lol

[@tgcid2018]

it can be but it really ain't depending upon where you live.In some places that's almost enough some places not,but that's neither steady nor typical pay. so maybe today you get 120 for a day's labor and you're okay with that, but tomorrow you get more like 60, and maybe you really need more like 150 or more steady every day to stay ahead of bills,gas,repairs for your car getting beat on,etc. your car falls apart and you'll be thinking 120 on a good day ain't enough by half.and then your tax return comes in,don't look forward to that lmfao@@oshikiri999

[@oshikiri999]

@AaronBrown-rr6yu then you sir live an extremely privileged life and should be happy for yourself.

[@oshikiri999]

@AaronBrown-rr6yu It truly is. We should all be afforded our basic human needs. We'll never grow as a species as long as we pay for water and fight wars over fossil fuels. It's completely absurd and I absolutely can't believe we've come this far scientifically and culturally, yet are so far gone stuck in the past. It makes my stomach turn.

[@bolshevikY2K]

If you can believe it the French word for the increasing prominence of the gig economy *is* actually "uberisation," and I can assure you it's not a good word; it's basically synonymous with the stripping of worker protections and a circumvention of union rights. I know that this was brought up in the video as well, but in English you don't usually get a solid word for this concept.

[@kerlyenai]

Thank you for that comment. I was also about to mention that word.

[@ghostnoodle9721]

Well its just assumed to happen to the scrubs and the elite don't need to talk with their own mouths

[@shindousan]

Some call it uberisation (uberização) in Brazil too.

[@belldrop7365]

@Zero Clutter Art and Design TOS in a nutshell.

[@runningbetweenspaces]

@Zero Clutter Art and Design the boot doesn't taste better

[@BennieVredestein]

Bro that CEO clip is completely insane

[@SweatyHatMan]

We need to bring back the guillotine

[@davidalvarez7262]

The CEOs and large companies benefit from inflation like the rents being high as a landlord.

[@BennieVredestein]

@@davidalvarez7262 How does that work?

[@Mistrivious]

I was so taken aback when he revealed that the guy saying this wasn’t some economist, but the ceo himself

[@davidalvarez7262]

@@BennieVredestein They set the prices by controlling the market.

[@frankwolftown]

Now let's see a video about how everything is becoming a subscription service.

[@awwtergirl7040]

Rent seeking everywhere in this New Economy.

[@manoz6194]

Including heat seats in a BMW

[@frankwolftown]

@@manoz6194 Heat seating a BMW!!!! Are you fucking kidding me!!!!!

[@frankwolftown]

@j - k I'll give you that.

[@adriancandelario2902]

"You will own nothing and you will be happy"

[@Danni_VA]

YES!!! Thank you for mentioning the nurse thing! When COVID happened we had a surge of travel and contracted nurses who got paid lots of money but us the core employees got nothing. No raise, no bonus, nothing! They used the money the government gave them to make more renovations to the hospital. I believe we got a one time bonus and that’s it! They bought us pizza and donuts but didn’t give us a raise or anything but instead outsourced work! It was all LEGAL!

[@gachuhichege6390]

So sorry to hear. You’re work is so crucial for life. Majorly undervalued

[@coreyrachar9694]

"you guys are the backbone of society, especially during the pandemic, so to show our appreciation we got you some donuts!". Pathetic. Healthcare and driving airplanes are two industries we should 100% not be outsourcing to freelancers....

[@amypola5903]

Lesson: When the media starts putting a group of people on pedestals it should raise some red flags, no matter how important or necessary the work is.. I knew nurses were mascots of the plandemic from the get go. It was odd how signage popped up everywhere overnight, and immediately nurses were heralded. Not doctors, or any other hospital staff, but nurses. Then when mistakes or vaccine related complications started rolling in they blamed nurses. Pedestal to scapegoat. Yeah Im not surprised at all your hospital money making machine did that to you all. Not at all. Support the troops. Code for approve of the war.

[@tgcid2018]

I've seen ads for nursing gig work and you'd almost think it was a joke if you didn't know capitalism to be what it is. What a bizarre idea, to hire part time randos for health care on any level whatsoever.

[@momar678]

It's almost like they were taking advantage of COVID to make money

[@m.a.118]

I teach ESL online. That's one of the "unseen" gig jobs since we don't really leave our homes. And this was the case before working at home was a thing in 2020...

[@jamescampbell6728]

It's incredible that tying things like health care and retirement to employment was a sick way to tie people to their jobs. But now taking that away is a way to tie people to their jobs in an even more toxic way

[@a.39886]

12I share all but the best bargaining power people have is have fewer children if there aren`t desperate people how can do this kind of job because if not they starve or are homeless nothing is going to change imagine there are no people willing to do the job for the misery payments they offer they would be forced to change, but if there are desperate people the cycle will continue.

[@palacsintakat]

Now theyll make you work 30 minutes less than full time at two jobs to ensure you work twice as hard to survive with no benefits

[@alb12345672]

Funny how he showed Albany Med hospital in the video. They were practically accused of slave labor, and are forced to pay some money back.

[@robert2690]

@@altrag There’s no such thing as free market. That’s just another way of saying “MONOPOLY”

[@robert2690]

@Zaydan Naufal That’s a big if depending on how much you make and whether if that “pay” pays the bills..

[@iammaxhailme]

My mother's been a surgical nurse since the late 80s, about to retire. She said when she started all the nurses were employees. Now, only the nurses who've been there for 20+ years are; all the new ones are gig workers.

[@krzzzy19]

There's no way that's the case. I work in health care and the young people are travelers making way more money than being staff.

[@iammaxhailme]

@@krzzzy19 Yes, but with zero pension, union, job security, or any benefits apart from their paycheck. It's a worse deal in the long run

[@nljacque]

@@iammaxhailme Not to mention is involves moving every couple of months. Capitalism kills communal bonds. Letting the invisible hand of economics constantly rotate everyone around the country sounds pretty shitty to me.

[@sacrilegioussasquatch]

@@iammaxhailme I'm so happy to see people unionizing, nurses really fucking need it

[@youweremymuse]

I drove for doordash for a bit so I joined the dasher subreddit. What I noticed is the biggest reason drivers stick with it is the ability to choose your own hours and take a day off whenever you want. and when you think about it, it's sad that this is seen as a revolutionary privelege. Companies make taking time off an incredibly demoralizing and painful experience. I've been given shit by my employer for asking for a weekend off months in advance, as if it's some massive burden I've placed upon them. obviously you can't just take time off every other week, but companies could up their employee retention exponentially if they just let people go on vacation every once in a while. (this is mostly about service work but it applies to lots of office jobs too.)

[@xuto2693]

The ability to just comfortably take some time off, or decide "I just don't feel it today" is so incredibly rare, that the ability to simply take a day to exist as a person and live your life makes all the abuse of these companies worth it.

[@no_peace]

a lot of us are disabled, too. so that's related to time off but also accommodations. i could do a ton of jobs if they would be flexible in any way but they refuse.

[@richardspillers6282]

I remember a time when seeing a character on TV dread asking for time off and thinking it was a joke.

[@vadergrd]

just move to central/eastern europe , they are in EU and have top work protection laws. In EU it will become full time employment...

[@Dantick09]

a lot of middle managers are incompetent and focus on checking boxes rather than leading a team. People need time off to keep morale up and be effective at their job. A happy employees is a productive employee

[@karlad4082]

I work for an employment law firm, and you are 100% correct. I’m amazed at how employers exploit their employees with loopholes and BS like you explained. 😢 Thank you for doing this channel and explaining workers their rights 👍

[@darkranger116]

As a person with 4 jobs living with 3 people just to pay off one Rent payment, yes. Kinda crazy how "the freest people in the world" would literally run themselves dry to the bone before ever even considering forcing billionaires to actually pay taxes for once.

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

There is literally no depth the owner class won't stoop to in order to rob workers of the fruits of their labor. This is the case in online stores as well, they take cuts of the profit as high as physical stores do despite only having a fraction the costs. At what point do we all just understand that this is not a bug of capitalism, but a feature?…

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

That’s why you should support individuals on ebay instead of using amazon ever. Amazon is trash and their search engine sucks. At least on ebay you are supporting fellow collectors

[@whysocurious7366]

They tied us up over a barrel for a reason. They want to F us. Anyone who doesn’t understand that, cannot understand why monopolies/oligopolies are bad.

[@mofowiththegun]

Might I recommend the IWW as a solution. I highly recommend contacting your local chapter and requesting a one on one to discuss praxis, philosophy, our history, and what gains we have made for the working class.

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

@@mofowiththegun Kinda don’t have the patience for it. I live in Sweden tho, so shucks for muricans. I’m gonna stick to just being overtly socialist in my social life, online presence and voting booth.

[@coolioso808]

Some of us have caught on. Capitalism is socially, economically and environmentally unsustainable. No doubt about it. Capitalism breeds selfishness and dictatorships of the rich. Not healthy. More people need to know this but the mainstream institutions, by and large, do not teach this crucial fact. Rarely will you find a mainstream news station even mention capitalism - despite it being the ROOT CAUSE of major problems they talk about like labor, wages, environmental destruction, war and disease! Rarely will you find educational institutions teaching what real economics means, how modern fiat money works, how many other viable alternatives there are to capitalism like a natural law resource based economy. How many people think there are only two options? Capitalism or socialism/communism. Well, if you lead socialist at least that indicates you recognize the danger of the destructiveness of capitalism and know how vast social programs are for human health. But the monetary-market root is still a problem! We could transition through a program like a global UBI and de-couple survival from employer-dictated incomes. That would let people re-orient their lives to what is really important and shift away from toxic outcomes of capitalism.

[@SP35640SNAKE]

It's insane how greedy these people are. When Uber Eats first came out I could make between $25-30 an hour with tips included. Then all of a sudden a few months later, after Uber reported billions in profit, I started making less than $15. When I started getting 2 dollars per order I left.

[@marsrover001]

same thing happened to me. Experienced drivers know not to accept $2 orders. So the incentive is to keep turnover high so those orders get fulfilled regardless.

[@wilfordfootball79]

They don't care about us

[@Snuzzled]

This is their entire business model. They make it incredibly lucrative for drivers, and incredibly cheap for riders, at the beginning. When Uber first came in to my city, I was constantly getting pushed offers for 50 percent off rides or $5 off the next three rides, and rides were already very cheap. I could take a five mile trip for five bucks, not including tip. It was easy to tip well, and I would take ubers occasionally when the bus was being unreliable or if I just didn't feel like walking. Now? Uber is charging $30 minimum for a five mile ride, surge pricing is even more. I never get any offers for any amount of discount, so I only use them if it's an absolute emergency. But the problem is, they were so cheap for so long that a lot of taxi companies have gone under. And a lot of users are used to uber/lyft now anyway and wouldn't even know how to get a taxi if they even wanted to. They lost money for a while, but they're gaining it back in spades. Their plan has paid off: they basically planned to lose money at the beginning to drive away competition and hook users on their service, and now we aren't left with much else. Same thing with Doordash and Uber Eats. I never get promos on my accounts anymore, and fees keep going up and up. They are well established, so they don't have to compete anymore. So they are comfortable jacking up the prices.

[@yt_nh9347]

Supply and demand, with more drivers since there is no barrier to entry (i.e. formal degree/qualification) how are you going to justify your inflated $30/hr when they can pay just about anyone with 3 brain cells less than $15? You are making less than $15/hr cause that is what you're worth to the market.

[@xuto2693]

What's insane is how society continues to be ok with it.

[@mrjades4764]

Any place that considers they’re workers “independent contractors” are scam artists. The worst place I ever worked was like that. When I quit, the boss argued with me about leaving trying to tell me how good the job is. I told him no, you’re exploiting people and I’m not going to stay and be exploited in a job that sells “raffle tickets” under the guise of fundraising. When they were telling us about the commission structure (pyramid scheme) I asked how much of the money we’re collecting actually goes to the cause we’re advertising. I was laughed at and told “we’re a business, not a charity”. So many workers were convinced they were making good money and had freedom being forced to work avg 12hour days, some days making what you would expect to make for a 12hour day and some days making nothing. No leave, no sick days, no super and the one day I forgot to wear my tie, I was made to go back home and get it- independent contractor, but you are expected to wear a tie to go sell BS to people doing their shopping. Oh and because you’re selling raffle tickets, you’re returning with hundreds of dollars in change that needs to be counted, and then your commission is taken out of that. Literally got paid in change. Went home with a bag of silver coins every night. Because I was working such long hours, I never got the chance to take it to the bank. Independent Contractor is a weak label that gives places the power to exploit.

[@jayz8839]

Yeah that needs to be banned, they always want to talk to me and I see them ignore ppl walking in front, either I look like a nice guy or a sucker, can’t figure it out. But yeah it’s common knowledge the charity gets nothing after commission and profit.

[@thekaxmax]

It's why Uber /really/ doesn't like Australia and a lot of Europe--we force Uber to treat them as employees.

[@FutureGhost399]

Sounds like American Income

[@Skidmark0606]

We’re at the point of “you will own nothing and be happy”. House prices are up, rent is up, food is up, gas is up, EVERYTHING is up. Every passing day, I see why my generation are choosing to become expatriates and choosing to live in countries like Portugal or Mexico. We’re legitimately being priced out. And it’s not any better in those countries either. I remember seeing a video about Mexican locals being priced out because of American expatriates moving in. Is anywhere safe?

[@Investormillard]

Just heaven!

[@wren_.]

then let’s actively start doing stuff. I don’t just mean protesting or civil disobedience, I mean actual disobedience. like “shooting a bullet at the CEO of uber’s head” type disobedience. For all their power, billionaires are still mortal.

[@oshikiri999]

​@@wren_. You're wild wren 🚬😮‍💨

[@qs6706]

​As radical as ​@@wren_. 'S idea may be what recourse is realistically left? When peaceful protest is often met with volent police subjugation and our governments are compramized by greed and corruption what are we supposed to do. Neither of the political parties are making anything better and congress is blantantly not divided but working for the oligarchs. It took four days to approve a movement to get tictok to sell to an american cpmpany or be banned so they could control it. Yet we never see any laws put in place to stymie climat change, minimum wage and worker's protections, or any kind of healthcate reforms when insurance companies and for profit healthcare have deatroyed America. We're at a breaking point. We're being forced to be complacent because we'd be labeled terrorists when we just want a better deal. We're being failed.

[@Octoberfurst]

I had to take an Uber a couple months ago and when chatting to the driver he was complaining about how little he makes. He said he works his butt off and often works 7 days a week and can barely make ends meet. He was an older gentleman on a fixed income and really needed the money. I felt very sorry for him and realized how terrible Uber really is.

[@FutureCommentary1]

But what's his alternative though. I think we can all agree that Uber wouldn't be employing him if they had to pay full time + benefits. And if people didn't take Uber because it's cheaper than taxi then Uber wouldn't exist. I lived in Romania where taxis had an app to call them. I went to Western Europe and everybody was talking about getting an Uber, and it took me a while to realize it was not about the convenience (like the taxi app in Romania) but about the price.

[@krissimons1339]

@@FutureCommentary1 And this is why I don't take Ubers or Lyfts, because I don't want to exploit some poor person who's being grossly underpaid for their service. The gig economy is all about exploitation.

[@hotarubinariko]

@krissimons1339 The economy * is all about exploitation. After trying desperately to make ends meet doing every kind of job i could. I realize it's all just exploitative BS. At least delivering, I don't have to deal with my boss telling me I need to come in or get written up when the state is asking people to stay home due to dangerous weather conditions. Dude, you cannot convince me it's all the same BS. My last employer even fudged my hours so they didn't have to give me health insurance or benefits. Before that, I worked a corporate desk job as a training specialist, getting paid significantly lower than the low end of average for the nation for that title, due to "inexperience". I made less than a dollar more than the entry-level guys at my tenure, and I was made to do the work of 2-3 people and whenever I miss something or got sick due to health issues which I had HR accommodations for, I would be given a "we care about you and are concerned because you're not keeping up" Talk, despite the fact I was covering my coworkers class and my own at the same time. You can't convince me we're not all just wage slaves. 40 hours a week is already too much. Living under capitalism isn't worth it.

[@krissimons1339]

@@hotarubinariko Yes, working for corporate overlords is akin to being wage slaves, but at a much higher level of compensation then the gig workers. As a "wage slave" I was still able to pull down a six figure salary with benefits but over time raises were minimal, benefits were cut and jobs were cut as well. Gig workers are a level down, several probably from where I was. Once I was between jobs for a long period and I took as an expediter (basically a glorified delivery man) and after a month I realized that after expenses I made nothing. This is the position most delivery gig workers are in if they do the math and was not the case when I was an actual employee.

[@hotarubinariko]

@krissimons1339 I'm happy for you making 6 figures, but that was not my experience. Working a corporate desk job for two years with as a training specialist, at my highest, I made 42,000 per year before taxes. I know there are cushy 6 figure wage slave jobs that make those slaves feel all nice and tingly I guess but I don't even know how to begin getting one of those jobs, save for maybe getting into p*rn, but I sadly I don't think I'm pretty enough for that. Granted, I should have gone for something different in university, but I didn't know we were going to go into a global pandemic or that family members of mine were going to start dying and getting sick. I had gotten educated to work abroad, and now I'm screwed for working domestically. Like I said, I could teach, but it's not livable where I am. Honestly, I'm making more now, even after doing the math, as a delivery driver than I was in my retail job. Actually, I'm pretty close to making the same as my training specialist job. Of course, I do work more hours as I have to pause during slow periods, so I'm still out, but I can do other things in my car during those slow periods. It's really hard for me to justify working a traditional job right now.

[@xndi2]

I've been driving with Doordash in suburban Georgia to earn extra money for a few months. Personally I can make just over $100/day on a busy day, which doesn't sound so bad, until you realize that's almost *ten hours* of driving, give or take an hour break. Already, half of that is gas money, since I can go through a whole tank in 1-3 days, and a significant portion of all earnings will need to be paid in tax. Not to mention car maintenance. But even worse than that is the fact that the worse the conditions, the more I earn. Intense storm keeping everyone inside? I have to drive in it all day now, because that's when everyone orders food. Bad accident on the highway? I get to either sit in traffic or take long, expensive routes, because nobody else wants to. Those are the good days. The pay is abysmal, the cost to participate consumes most earnings, and bad/dangerous working conditions are PREFERRED. It's the worst, most exploitative legal loophole of it's kind.

[@DMZRPG]

its not exploitative. you agreed to this knowing all of what you just said before hand. if you didnt know it before hand then you didnt do your homework and got what was comming. learn a skill. offer your service. get paid more. my 12 year old brother can drive a car. grow up people. Thinking you're suppose to make a living for you and your family working at mcdonalds or driving a car around town😂😂 🤦 . supply and demand. you are the supply. theres too many of you, therefore you get paid less. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eojFqXx8eJWEaNE

[@AnnaEmilka]

@@DMZRPG it IS exploitative. Did you not watch the video?

[@DMZRPG]

@@AnnaEmilkasorry no, it is not. Use your brain.

[@AnnaEmilka]

@@DMZRPG you're clearly not using yours xD

[@DMZRPG]

@@AnnaEmilka So when you sign up for something knowing the rules before hand, it's not exploitative. You need to go read some books. I suggest starting with a dictionary.

[@mrnotimeman396]

As someone who does door dash. The problem isn't just the gig work. It's the low pay jobs like mcdonalds and walmart that are worse. I can make 30 dollars an hour doing door dash. but mcdonalds will only pay me 13.50 at best. It is a systemic problem. There are no good jobs.

[@pr0tson]

Is 30 USD / h a little money? I fail to see what seems to be a problem here.

[@gaychampagnesocialist7213]

@@pr0tson 30/h sounds pretty great to me, but that might not be taking on cost to operate and making that 30/h realistically 20 or less depending on where you are.

[@mirjam3553]

​@@gaychampagnesocialist7213 (And if that 30/hr is a peak rate that comes maybe once per day or, worse, for a few hrs per week... But then again, there comes supply-demand...)

[@gaychampagnesocialist7213]

@@mirjam3553 Yeah, your $/h is always going to be in flux, but that's just how economics works. Supply and demand are never 'fixed' numbers, and often the smaller scale the service is, the larger the variety of influences and possibility to change for the average worker.

[@krissifadwa]

$30/hour on DoorDash? What is the location of your market?

[@Cyberlisk]

In Germany this is a big problem in the package delivery sector. Most delivery men are not directly employed by the company, but by are contractors of other contractors, leading to poor working conditions, and also poor service because the workers are rushed that hard.

[@hickknight]

Same as in the Netherlands. What's even worse is that the guy talking about that actually said that all the social services that they need to live? Excess weight. That's the best way I can translate it. It's ridiculous that this is allowed. EDIT: to add to that further, it's per package successfully delivered, not whether or not you rang the bell or knocked on the door/window. So if you aren't in, they miss out on their pay. It's why I've chosen to have said packages delivered elsewhere so I can pick it up later.

[@a.39886]

@@hickknight I share all but the best bargaining power people have is have fewer children if there aren`t desperate people how can do this kind of job because if not they starve or are homeless nothing is going to change imagine there are no people willing to do the job for the misery payments they offer they would be forced to change, but if there are desperate people the cycle will continue.,m.

[@metallboy25]

Its the same in the UK

[@AntechamberVAL]

Been doing UberEats for almost a year now, full time, and I can tell you that the struggle is real. My mental health has degraded ever since I’ve had to fully support myself on an app that rips away the fruit of your labor.

[@kaylaEA_]

It’s not sustainable, the pay is too low. When it’s time to make repairs to your vehicle you likely won’t have the funds to cover it.

[@bamboolaceway]

Another thing I noticed about Uber is that in a new area for them, a few drivers get a high income, so then Uber advertises this high income and neglects the fact that when there were X number of drivers, they could get all the rides and $$, but with X + X drivers, the drivers see their income halve. I saw it a few years back Seattle with a few of my friends who were trying to earn a living wage by working Uber on their days off. At first, it was easy to earn money, but after a rush of new drivers, my friends complained how difficult it was.

[@kawaiajackson9037]

I suspect they decrease earnings after you've been driving so long. Recommending longer trips for less money

[@redwolfexr]

@@kawaiajackson9037 they don't have to, more drivers and the same customer load. It happens naturally. The only people who do pretty well are the specialty vehicles that themselves are expensive and need to be maintained.

[@seanwilliams7655]

@@redwolfexr a lot of guys who drive Uber black or Lyft lux apparently have private clients they drive outside the apps.

[@genxchas]

Got saturated

[@PretentiousGamer]

As a gig worker( food delivery) all throughout the pandamic, this intrigue me Edit: To answer some questions, I did not work for Uber, I worked for Grab, the South East Asia version of Uber, I sent food on a motorbike. I was enticed by the promise of huge pay as many others did, work on your own time All in all, this covers pretty much everything that I found problematic with the gig economy

[@realweasel8263]

Let us know your thoughts after the video!

[@shadowtimez2452]

What do you think after watching the video?

[@IshtarNike]

@@daniellarson3068 he's a video essayist not a journalist who does interviews.

[@Spats2Bats]

As someone who worked in grocery as an essential worker and saw a lot of food delivery workers in my time, what made you want to work on the frontlines so to speak during the pandemic? Just curious.

[@PretentiousGamer]

@@Spats2Bats mostly to fill in the time and for the money, it gets pretty boring during the early pandemic.

[@brokenrecord3095]

the whole "independent contract" worker categorization needs to be abolished for lower wage workers. full stop.

[@dan44zzt231]

They abolished this loophole in the UK but its literally about to be repealed in the next budget. The general rule being "if you do everything a normal employee would do, then you have to be an employee'

[@toddbridges7430]

@@dan44zzt231 the UK health system is being dismantled and replaced with and by USA healthcare insurance companies.

[@a.39886]

@@dan44zzt231 2tI share all but the best bargaining power people have is have fewer children if there aren`t desperate people how can do this kind of job because if not they starve or are homeless nothing is going to change imagine there are no people willing to do the job for the misery payments they offer they would be forced to change, but if there are desperate people the cycle will continue.

[@no_peace]

i think it should be a hybrid model. we have a lot of freedom because we aren't employees, we can refuse to do things. but the idea that they are customers of our delivery businesses is comical. they are our boss, that's the reality

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

@@no_peace To be fair, there's already employee contract models that would allow for that same flexibility, or very close to it, but carry far better protections

[@gussbus9320]

I’m listening to this while doing doordash and this is all completely correct. I get messages about the mean income being $8 more an hour than what I get on good days.

[@no_peace]

they act like nyc or la have anything to do with smaller areas. they're totally different

[@manoz6194]

It rained today in my city and uber eats put an incentive on, got £80 in less than 4 hours

[@alastairhewitt380]

@@manoz6194 So you are saying to fix the economy we should all dance for rain... I think you have far more rights in the UK than we do here in the US. I am sure they are more regulated

[@RideshareOtter]

Uber/Lyft prices are rising and the pay rates for us driver have remained the same since I started in 2016. on average it's gone up 30% and the drivers are NOT seeing that increase. Also, Lyft had a $.55 gas charge that was going to the drivers ... well that ended and I spoke to a few passengers who informed me they were still seeing the change on their fairs.

[@FirestormMk3]

Yeah they're all scummy that way. Doordash has a "long distance" surcharge for deliveries a certain distance from the delivery point "along with the higher service fee that causes" and the drivers don't get a penny of that either, but many people ordering, through no fault of their own, assume that surcharge goes to the driver and plan their tips accordingly. I mean, I hate the whole thing in the US of expecting customers to pay employee's wages for them, but even a customer who does want to tip appropriately may subtract that $2-5 from what they planned to give because they assumed it was a surcharge the driver keeps. Just a way for them to charge more and make the customer think it's a fee that makes the employees' lives easier while they laugh and pocket it.

[@caiocesar7084]

In Brazil we call the this process of deteriorarion of work conditions "uberização do trabalho" that could be translated as "work uberization".

[@Envy_May]

WOW

[@Envy_May]

"the uberfication of work" sounds like another video essay title already

[@katherynemero4118]

I'm going to share this right now because I have a friend that is thinking about doing Uber. I've been trying to convince her that it's a bad idea, without any evidence to support that premise other than the fact that I feel it's a bad idea. No one trusts my feelings. Ok. This video is pretty convincing, at least to me. Thank you.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

See, the problem isn't the people who drive for Uber. The problem is the *company itself* - the owners and executives. This is a problem that can't be solved by just not using it or working for it - we need to be hitting it at the roots. The corrupt politicians like Macron who make deals with them (and own stock in them like I'm sure 90% of the US Congress does).

[@rockfire1669]

Sister just tell them the cost of maintenance on the car, tho that doesn’t work with my family. Edit:didn’t look at account

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

Good luck getting them to listen. I tried to warn a friend about working a delivery job with his first car. Broke down in a matter of weeks

[@katherynemero4118]

@@banquetoftheleviathan1404 I'm not optimistic, honestly.

[@pakistanispoof5440]

As a Pakistani observer, this is strangely relatable to me. Local delivery services here are using the same tactics. Thank God we have worker unions here and employees can negotiate their pay better here.

[@Lovve_less]

The icing on the cake is that if you don't accept a certain amount of jobs that come through you're penalized by literally NOT being able to see the locations of where the job are. It's called "upfront addresses"

[@alastairhewitt380]

You used to not be able to see them no matter what before you accepted them. They probably faced enough pressure to finally include it, but of course the bastards found a way to turn it into a punishment

[@mickeyg7219]

Just like tipping culture in the US, some people will try to guilt-trip customers (or potential customers) and/or telling the driver to blame the riders or lack there of. Uber's business model might sounds "innovative," but really it boils down to just an additional step from the conventional taxi, the employee have to use their own vehicle - many conventional taxis nowadays use apps as well, and something similar existed before Uber, it's just that Uber has a different way of marketing and influence on the policy makers. And like this and a lot of videos said, Uber isn't even a good business model from a business standpoint, it's running at a loss but it can keep going because it's good at convincing the investors. That's it, Uber is basically a Ponzi scheme, if one day they failed to find anymore investors, it'll collapse and commuters and drivers alike will suffer from the consequence of the business.

[@a.39886]

3I share all but the best bargaining power people have is have fewer children if there aren`t desperate people how can do this kind of job because if not they starve or are homeless nothing is going to change imagine there are no people willing to do the job for the misery payments they offer they would be forced to change, but if there are desperate people the cycle will continue.m

[@陆致云]

Agreed. Guilt -trip his is exactly what Meituan (Chinese equivalent of Uber Eats) did when controversy rose about how they treated their contract workers.

[@a.39886]

@@陆致云 Yeah for rich people who want the world to run on Supply/Demand having highly replaceable/expendable workers is a huge plus. Slowing down birth rates which happens pretty naturally if you educate them on how much childbirth is the best way to put the ball back into the people's court, and being able to demand from the upper classes.

[@jayman8001]

Where are your sources stating that it is basically a ponzi scheme ?

[@AuroraAce.]

@@a.39886 if people stop having children, the gap in population will be filled by immigration

[@empatheticrambo4890]

I’m so grateful I haven’t had to get into the gig economy myself. But it scares me how much of a likelihood it is that I or someone else will get sucked into it

[@fortheloveofnoise]

im banned from doing gig work due to my driving history.....dodged a bullet! Funny enough I do drive for a living, because the company does not care about my past...and I get benet(but it comes out of the paycheck) I hate I have to give the job up do to moving soon

[@jayz8839]

Making ppl work from home is part of a bigger plan to gig them

[@empatheticrambo4890]

@@jayz8839 that’s crossed my mind before. I do think much of work from home can allow for workers comfort and rights, BUT the gig risk is real

[@jayz8839]

@@empatheticrambo4890 It's a great way to beta test gigging the work to a place they will take far less money for the same work as well.

[@empatheticrambo4890]

@@jayz8839 or, like my workplace, have one person do the work of 4-6 people. Save money either way and get to brag about low payroll without thinking about long term problems. It works either way

[@vietanhtran1156]

Great to watch your thoughtful video!!! I'm an UberEats driver in Vancouver, Canada. I drive mostly during peak hour like lunchtime and dinner time, or over weekend. After deducting the crazy fuel price here, average I make $14 - $16 CAD per hour. Summer is the worst earning season. And I have to admit that even you're a crazy driver like Dominic Toretto, maximum you can make is $18 - $20. And this job hurts your back a lot

[@danielduvernay3207]

Thank you to all of those who are Second Thought Patrons I appreciate that these videos are still being made because of you.

[@thevictor180]

You know... You can always become one yourself

[@0bso1e7e]

​@@thevictor180 If JT is the type of person who would want someone to donate their last dollar to him, then please tell me and I'll cancel my subscription to him. Thankfully, I don't think that's the case. I'm glad that my patreon helps creators like JT make content that reaches people - especially those who don't really have the desire or ability to give him money. It's not the already-politically-engaged that need to hear this stuff.

[@subject122]

This channel never fails to educate me and truly open my eyes to how sick this world is. One of the best KZbinrs on this platform.

[@josephgeorge5741]

I hope it has also turned you on to the solution.

[@guardmaster9620]

@ghost mall THIS is the kind of thinking people on both sides need to have. I feel that a lack of critical thinking is not only a big factor to the decline of society, but also prevents people from taking opposing arguments seriously. I believe that some anti-corporate channels like the quartering, who just blindly stirs up outrage, and refuse to admit when they're wrong undermines the more reasonable voices of the changes.

[@subject122]

@ghost mall oh yea you’re absolutely right, it encourages me to go read up and get even more info on my own after the video, really enforces the idea of giving thing a second thought. It makes me want to have more conversations with other people about these type of topics, thank you for spreading the truth, a lot of people blindly accept information unfortunately

[@no_one2197]

Came to write the same thing. This is sickening. Most teachers at my university are also ''gig workers''

[@Netanya-q4b]

I signed up for Door Dash, then quit before doing a single delivery because they were bombarding me with updates, texts, notifications far in excess of any regular job I've had.

[@theghostmaker45]

Guess what it's still work they deserve a fair wage and befits as u get with any job

[@dioxideuniversal]

DoorDash is especially unsafe to drive for. Their app is so fucking high maintenance.

[@theghostmaker45]

@@dioxideuniversal wdym

[@1harrismccarty]

@@dioxideuniversal my biggest issue is they push new orders right as you approach a drop off, kicking you away from navigation and forcing you to quickly interact with the app to get back to navigation and complete the delivery. Often, the orders pushed are the orders no one wants for various reasons. This is so drivers trying to quickly get back to navigation will accidentally accept the order. There is then a “penalty” to your completion rating if you don’t complete it. I’ve missed turns and ended driving 15 miles out of my zone to complete some of these at a loss until I caught on

[@a.39886]

@@theghostmaker45 2I share all but the best bargaining power people have is have fewer children if there aren`t desperate people how can do this kind of job because if not they starve or are homeless nothing is going to change imagine there are no people willing to do the job for the misery payments they offer they would be forced to change, but if there are desperate people the cycle will continue.

[@loganboylen2389]

Your insight is much appreciated!

[@erikroberts2137]

I'm minoring in Sociology and your videos are great references for my papers.

[@Dragrath1]

The best descriptive term I have heard for the labeling of employees as "independent contractors" is *Wage Theft* because that is exactly what it is theft. This is just a way of stealing money and getting away with it via legal loopholes in other words pure evil.

[@sybrandwoudstra9236]

I thought the company would hire an "independent contractor" who would then hire his own independent contractors who would hire employees and when a 13 year old delivers packages without a driving license, the company will say "well we didn't know". Of course they know.

[@theafterxoparty2686]

i had to take an uber so i could meet up with some friends about a week ago, and the uber driver i was talking with was talking about all the shitty things uber was trying to lobby for in the law. also the way they get paid either got changed or isn’t beneficial (they only get paid for the amount of time when a passenger is in the car and not for every mile). so many people actually lose money from driving an uber due to this and the insane gas prices right now. the only reason that man i talked with does uber is because he’s retired and wants some extra cash, and the remaining benefits.

[@KingDayDayDay00]

They get paid less but here is the thing.... A lot of these people refuse to get a regular job. They accept the fact that it's ok to keep getting reamed up the Ay-nis by Uber.

[@obligatedobservation5878]

@@KingDayDayDay00 you are a preposterous fool.

[@janinawaz4596]

@@KingDayDayDay00 Since the early 1990's in all of my employee jobs I have been misclassified as an independent contractor. I knew it was illegal. Making a complaint as an individual meant being immediately blacklisted, despite having a solid career history. I had to move 5 thousand miles away to escape the stain. I don't think I could do that now in the age of Linked In. It isn't simply about "get a real job". There are so few 'real jobs' anymore. Especially not ones that pay enough to afford to keep a roof over your head.

[@a.39886]

@@janinawaz4596 I share all but the best bargaining power people have is have fewer children if there aren`t desperate people how can do this kind of job because if not they starve or are homeless nothing is going to change imagine there are no people willing to do the job for the misery payments they offer they would be forced to change, but if there are desperate people the cycle will continue.--.

[@janinawaz4596]

@@a.39886 I agree with you, in part. I think it's not enough because the change we desperately need Right Now is too slow that way. People are suffering right now. I've seen birth rates dropping in HCOL* areas the last 30 years. Officials in the US have responded by taking away reproductive choice and allowing more immigration, especially H1B visas and illegal immigration, because the undocumented migrants and H1B's are far more exploitable. We need population stability and gradual shrinkage, but we also need good people who want to parent to be able to afford it, and have the time to do it properly. Remember the "quality time" propaganda aimed at overworked and underpaid parents in the 1980's? That was some bullshit. *High Cost Of Living

[@cesarefildani5023]

There is an amazing Italian movie about this, it's called 'E Noi come Stronzi Rimanemmo a Guardare'. In it, a man named Arturo is fired from his job by an algorithm he created. He becomes desperate for money so he signs up for the company Fuuber (which is described exactly like you described uber). Fuuber is a food delivery company, but has begun expanding its reach. Arturo has to work desperately to make ends meet and receives very little pay. He begins to see how our society is faulted, and how Fuuber is taking over the world and peoples lives. The movie is a really good dark comedy with a very leftist viewpoint.

[@normalizedinsanity4873]

Thank you Cesare, I will look that up

[@fammnak852]

Sounds like a lovely movie, thanks for the recs!!

[@cesarefildani5023]

@@fammnak852 The movie is in Italian but I think there is an english dub or subtitles

[@NapoleonTrotski]

thank you mate !

[@jer103]

1. Fuuber is very close in German to furchtbar = awful 2. Fuuber also reminded me of f.u.b.a.r. from Saving Private Ryan. It means "f*cked up beyond all recognition". Both sound very close in definition.

[@matt.stevick]

This analysis is absolutely incredible and exposing what is essentially a company manipulating labor laws for profit. The quality of the content is so impressive.

[@LIFEwithBAVAN]

I've seen so many stable jobs turn into contract roles it's insane.

[@liveyourlife495]

I was an independent contractor working as a full-time, permanent substitute teacher for 3 years. The County didn't have to provide healthcare, sick days, summer pay or any other entitlements other full time teachers received. The gig loophole is criminal.

[@agsweet708]

I was a Sub too.

[@MrShaclakclak]

I delivered for Uber, door dash, and grubhub, while also working a "full time" job. my "job" paid around 14 an hour. Even after "gig'ing" i never made enough at the end of the month. DD makes you pick up low paying orders or it hurts your "rating" in turn giving you access to less orders. Grubhub pushes you to pick scheduled "block" times, in order to get the chance for better paying orders. then you get your 12 dollar order and drive 30 minutes to the next town that is outside your "hub"(area to receive orders) then it takes to 30 minutes to drive back to your "hub" the whole time you wont receive offers for orders, because your outside the "hub". after an hour and gas cost, 12 dollars is a smack in the face.

[@SatanasExMachina]

I've been speaking on the immenent doom the gig economy foreshadows, and I'm glad you made a video covering this need to know topic. Thanks JT.

[@sarahblaquiere3121]

I like how you point out that it's certain that Uber drivers make less than they should - there's no way the capital-owning class would so enthusiastically support a system that paid workers what their time and labour is really worth.

[@lozdeegan5774]

Another great video! Here in the UK (after a LOT of Trades Union organising, Transport for London playing hardball) UBER drivers now get holiday and sick pay, it was a battle but one well worth fighting!

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

Here’s the thing: a freelancer is one who sets their own hours AND wages. Places like Uber and doordash don’t let you set wages: you are an employee not “your own business” or a freelancer. You are a part time employee. Granted in LA almost ALL of these apps pay better than retail and service workers, which says even MORE about those awful industries. Which is where a lot of gig economy workers are from and why those businesses complain they can’t find any workers and no one wants to work anymore 😂. At the end of the day late stage capitalism isn’t sustainable by exploiting everyone. AND you can’t have it as everyone is a business and there are businesses that facilitate work to smaller businesses. That’s not how things are supposed to work.

[@lynnboartsdye1943]

Imagine if the lady interviewing that ceo brought up how he’s taking advantage of disaster like this, wipe that smile right off his face.

[@blessedandbiwithahintofmagic]

The gig economy is an excellent deal for businesses - it's such an elegant way of cutting down on benefits, salaries, and making the workforce more beholden to them, via their algorithm, and very business model. Businesses have always done this, and will always - those that gain the most power in a society that can create such organizations will be those at the top - they will always find more ways to take more, to press more out of labor, and amp up sweatshop conditions. There is always another way - our system as it is on an international scale now is going to push this. As long as businesses such as this exist, and can form, people with the most clever and brutal methods of pressing out more productivity and earnings for themselves will keep finding new strategies, and things will get worse and worse, eternally. There is no end - and there is always a new beginning, in our current world.

[@shemaths1668]

I don't know if I want all those things under the current 9-5 lifestyle. I may not have all those things but I can hang with my son more, homeschool my son. Sleep when I feel like without having to ask for a day off. All that other stuff pales in comparison

[@blessedandbiwithahintofmagic]

@Hattie Lankford That's one of the things - the most successful, big businesses have to do this to be number 1 - it is inevitable, and thus the worst business owners rise to the top.

[@blessedandbiwithahintofmagic]

@@shemaths1668 I'm really happy for you! Living a good life with those you love is so important. We can never let our economic system, any system, take that from us. But we only get to spend time with our families if something changes - otherwise, it will all be taken away, slowly, until we have nothing else.

[@a.39886]

@@blessedandbiwithahintofmagic xI share all but the best bargaining power people have is have fewer children if there aren`t desperate people how can do this kind of job because if not they starve or are homeless nothing is going to change imagine there are no people willing to do the job for the misery payments they offer they would be forced to change, but if there are desperate people the cycle will continue.

[@blessedandbiwithahintofmagic]

@@a.39886 Hmmm, I never thought of it that way - that's a really accurate, but not a really practical point. Some people wanna have kids - there is a percentage who do not, but many do - they can't stop their lives because dragons still live. It's a really good point, though - perhaps we could levverage this, the least exploitable getting gains for everyone, then everyone in turn helping back.

[@tres5533]

"This "gig economy" really is just a big reset button on labour rights." - Paint TheFuture. Excellent video essay as this WILL HAVE very dire results in our society. I am very concerned. The SHEER amount of blatant evil from industrialist is mindblowing. They really have NO SHAME.

[@brianadlich4406]

i've been thinking this for a while. Even though they're different things, but I think this all started after the 2008 crash when you started having to use temp agencies and/or placement servicea to get many jobs.

[@ikeekieeki]

yes, i think there is a direct line

[@IfWeRanTheWorldXers]

I would go one step further and say that there have been temp jobs, if not industries, for a long time, such as freelance writers, adjunct instructors, most of what we'd consider "the entertainment industry," e.g. acting, directing, cinematography, costume designing, make-up artistry, hair styling, etc. However, the financial/material risk in those jobs were viewed by everyone as "acceptable" because folks "chose" those lines of work. However, the "temping creep" has been going on for a long time, such as in academic institutions with their hiring more adjuncts and tightening the tenure-track jobs; newspapers and other print media, especially local ones, shedding their hired staff and either shutting down completely or depending more and more on freelancers as the profession switched to going online; and so on. And temp agencies/placement services for white- and blue-collar jobs have been around for decades. I agree with your idea that 2008 might be a turning point where the "temping creep" metastasized into a lot more professions, which led to "the gig economy" we have today, but It's say the 2008 crash accelerated the "temping creep," not start it.

[@-Letgos-]

JT and Hakim with the double trouble uploads 👍🏽

[@SubAnima]

Amazing work as always JT!

[@gradientO]

JT? Justin Timberlake?

[@juliekersten6050]

Excellent video. One other bad thing about Uber is that they don't have to follow ADA compliance. People with wheel chairs and guide dogs regularly get cancelled rides because drivers don't want to deal with them. My friend was charge a clean bill from Uber for a driver's car. She fought back hard against and luckily won. It took a lot of photos. She had to convince them her dark poodle did not shed little white hairs that were all over the car seat. This wouldn't be so much of a problem in a taxi, because it's not the driver's personal car and it can easily be cleaned out at the end of the night. Plus a taxi company would be required to follow ADA laws and take disabled riders.

[@no_peace]

Uber does have to take disabled riders, it's in the driver's contract as well. it's illegal for drivers to refuse

[@mastercheif1225]

I worked at 3 different hospitals in south Florida. The nurses and admin were literally (correct use of the word) the only ones not contracted. Doctors cna's kitchen, security and public facing employees (front desk visitor entrance workers) are all either contractors or volunteers

[@snowleopardlady1560]

I used to drive full-time for Instacart. I was quite literally working 7 days a week for peanuts. I ultimately decided it was time to find a regular job when I had to pay for a ticket (it was a parking ticket) and realized just how much money would take from me. Money that I was barely saving by eating once a day. To hell with these gig businesses

[@raventhorX]

the irony behind some of this is that now Doordash in a way forces it's drivers to accept orders. They recently added a policy that prevents drivers from getting good orders that pay at least $2 per mile if their acceptance rating is below 50%.

[@jayz8839]

If u don’t want that job then other ppl probably don’t as well, makes sense u get punished for pushing work u don’t want onto someone else.

[@FirestormMk3]

@@jayz8839 People might actually want it if they weren't getting lowballed on pay. Generally speaking from what I've gathered from people I know working there and online stories from people I don't know, orders that pay under $1/mile is essentially you working for free because you'll barely break even on the fuel and vehicle wear and tear, and that doesn't even address being paid for the time you'll spend sitting and not driving. They're penalizing workers into accepting lower and lower pay, while they raise consumer prices, and then framing it in a way that makes people like you say they deserve to be punished. Whether you're talking about gig work or hard, manual labor, there aren't these jobs that "no one is willing to do," it's jobs no one is willing to accept poverty wages for. Yet the same businesses that tell us that even when they get subsidies they need to always raise prices because if the market will bear the higher price then it's correct for them to charge it turn around and scream about no one wanting to work and ask to shut down meager unionization efforts and even roll back minimum wage because suddenly it's unfair if workers withhold their labor unless the business pays a higher price. When businesses charge enormous new high prices amid record-breaking profits threatening to damage the economy and make living unaffordable, better welfare or price controls aren't even considered as options to discuss let alone ever be implemented, but when rail workers want to be able to have a single paid sick day a year, the government steps in and *forces* them back to work and says strikes and other union power will not be tolerated, you WILL work and accept whatever they pay you or you WILL be arrested, all under the excuse that while their employer is making record profits they can't be made to negotiate better benefits because that minor cost could hurt the economy too much. You're blaming the wrong person.

[@iEtthy]

Something we truly can agree on. Gig economy is the absolute nightmare people will not see destroy us until its too late.

[@chihirostargazer6573]

I've been saying this for so long and people look at me like I'm from another planet. I don't know how to wake people up when they're so brainwashed.

[@vividdaydream1516]

We're not only in a second gilded age, it's so much worse than the first one. Today's owning class has learned from the past, and boarded up all the windows of opportunity that previous generations of workers used to gain their freedom. It's time we started thinking outside the box, because the owning class has left us with no _legal_ way to break their iron grip around our throats.

[@aLittlePal]

Only words, no action. No success.

[@leedirtybriches]

Its easy to beat or join them if you are willing to work with each other & everyone has valuable skills. Most of you act & run around like selfish RATS.

[@Maxry-v2y]

Thanks!

[@glauciamsq]

The irony of getting an uber ad before this video. The NERVE

[@joeyshuster8569]

as someone who makes money playing music, I will always say fuck the gig economy.

[@epicwhat001]

You literally get payed for every gig. Why don’t you just work for Walmart?

[@sarahtiferet9025]

@@epicwhat001 Oh okay Troll > Why don't YOU just , no YOU . no YOU! >> Poor thing

[@epicwhat001]

@@sarahtiferet9025 Nothing wrong with working for Walmart. Take a breath. You write like a maladjusted human.

[@ryanw7196]

At some point they will destroy the American consumers ability to simply consume

[@ryanw7196]

Bewilders me how all these companies are still pulling massive profits from the American marketplace, probably loads of credit tbh, a-whole-nother variety of shit show.

[@ichsagnix4127]

Yep the only people not profiting from inflation are those who are obliged to work for their living. That's why my doctor would get nervous when I start talking about how emotional I get when corporations and newspapers talk about the "risks" of wage-inflation spirals.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

The only risk there should be is that we finally get fed up with it and feed those responsible to the ever-gaping maw of capitalism as they've so eagerly fed so many others.

[@msjodikat]

I really feel bad about being a part of this. Ad a single mom, with a car I couldn’t afford, in SF I thought uber was the perfect mama job. At that time, maybe? Part of the affordability was the bonuses we earned as first time drivers & the ambiguity of insurance reporting at that time. I also loved the job itself, getting to know people & the area better. The thing is, the exact thing that made this a great job has reversed it in equal measure.

[@yellowlemonmothfreak]

Dude I like that thumbnail it pretty much sums up the whole issue with the promise of gig apps. Your income is precarious and it makes it's easy to think that you shouldn't get a more stable form of employment

[@jermsbestfriend9296]

We need to sue so that people who work more than 10 hours per week get benefits

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

Suing won't get us anywhere. We need to be involved in our government, which is excessively hard to do with legislative bodies that were too small when they were frozen over a century ago.

[@RosesAndIvy]

@@mannyjeanpierre4062 A lot of benefits can be adjusted for time worked. So if you work 10 hours that's 0.25 fte and you can set the minimum wage to be 25% of the full time wage, you can give 25% of paid time off, etc.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

@@mannyjeanpierre4062 The only reason the work week is still 40 hours is because we refuse to change things. Even Nixon thought that by now we'd be working closer to 10 a week. We just decided to fill the world with bullshit jobs.

[@no_peace]

the insurance offered by garbage companies costs too much for low income drivers to afford

[@no_peace]

*to use, I'm not talking about premiums but copays and co insurance

[@MarshallTheArtist]

I loved working for Uber and Uber Eats, but I was extremely strategic about it, and Uber's AI ultimately banned me from their platform for no legitimate reason.

[@sybrandwoudstra9236]

Can you tell your strategy so the world can see? Or would they patch it.

[@MarshallTheArtist]

@@sybrandwoudstra9236 It kicked me off over a year ago now. I have no idea how much they may have changed things since then. I had to adjust my strategy multiple times anyway.

[@fearless6947]

but you where making a lot of money for them as well. Why would they ban you? to me it's a win win

[@MarshallTheArtist]

@@fearless6947 Their AI was fucking stupid. I’m convinced that no human being has ever been involved with onboarding or removing drivers from the platform. It’s never been a well run company.

[@Planet.Xplor3r]

Love Second Thought spreading the truth, and finally starting to advocate for more militaristic methods that are the only solution.

[@hailervin]

He needs to see Alabama . It’s full of damn bootlickers

[@Planet.Xplor3r]

​@@tyrreloneal5178 Love this community man, finally people who aren't like "We NeEd To WoRk WiTh ThE sYsTeM"

[@Planet.Xplor3r]

@ghost mall Bruh, I said he was spreading the truth. I never said he was the only place I get information from.

[@Dancing_Alone_wRentals]

@ghost mall Hey Ghost....now now, there will be none of that. You're either storming the castle or not. Did you bring your pitchfork? Put away those critical thinking skills for when you need to pick between the new Chinese Iphone 14 models. Until then, grab the other end of this hot tar cauldron.

[@Tiggidy_]

I was watching this video at work (full-time auto automotive technician and part-time door dasher) and the 1st ad to play during the break was for door dash; I spit take my red bull I laughed so hard

[@IceTeaGX]

I got a mid-roll ad for uber... Nice to see the YT algorithm has a sense of irony.

[@littlegreenclementine]

adjunct professors running most of the actual academic functions of universities comes to mind as well. tenures end up to 'professors' who don't really talk to students or lecture, but the guys who can get grants. the last professor I had that was tenured honestly gave me trauma and before I took his class I was on the up-turn on my academic anxiety, but after my interactions with him my academic anxiety went a full 180 and got worse than I had when I started.

[@mwilkins1644]

I stopped doing Uber Eats because my old car broke, which cost me thousands, and I was constantly underpaid for my driving. The reason I was sucked into it was because my old job forced me to do it with horrid pay.

[@jayz8839]

Uber eats is for bikes and scooters

[@N3CR0T1C_V3N0M]

I worked for Uber/Lyft in college about 8 years ago, and back then, before the greed skyrocketed and they oversaturated the market with drivers, I remember wondering why I was in college at all. I could routinely make $4-700/ weekend plus whenever during the week, all while writing papers and studying textbooks. That was year one. Fast forward 3 years and I was barely making ends meet because of the changes they had made and could barely pull $7-8/hr. If it wasn't for the flexible hours, I would have gotten a solid, albeit shit job in order to remain fed and housed, but who knows if I would have made it through that last semester.

[@stevechance150]

The Owner Class wants the Worker Class to be desperate, desperate for shelter (especially if they own rental properties), desperate for food, and desperate for work. The company can force their employees to do ANYTHING if the employees are desperate, even pee in a bottle between deliveries.

[@no_peace]

it's not just the app companies though... i was going to pee my pants yesterday and had to drive 25 minutes out of downtown to find a (customers only) bathroom. i tried and tried and they all had lobbies closed or "out of service." that's literally why it's legal here to pee outside. but there were people all over so i couldn't realistically do it so yeah i was 50 min late for deliveries. they just don't want homeless people to go in their building

[@cosmic_gate476]

@@no_peace just piss on their doors next time instead lmao

[@Nirobiscloset10]

Exactly.

[@ZymethShinsey]

One will be much less likely becomming an "owner class" as you described with forced regulations. It is much harder to start a buisness knowing you immidiatley must pay insurances, days off, minimum wage etc. At the same time, jobs without it still can be life saving for some people - otherwise, why wouldn't they choose something else? If you assume, you could become an "owner class" working as a serial empolee, then keep in mind - someone has to first create so profitable buisness for this.

[@cosmic_gate476]

@@ZymethShinsey lol this term owner class is so outdated. You can make more money than an "owner class" through various streams of income other than creating your own business, of course nothing is free or easy but the rich are far more numerous than just founders and co-founders. The best way to describe the rich is "asset class" because everyone who has half a brain knows holding assets that appreciate is how you stay rich and safe from currency devaluation, even the business owners and movie stars know that's where their personal funds should go. Fuck, even normal people like me know it. Owning a business can help you get the capital to preserve and multiply your wealth, but it's not the only way.

[@Mayaaaaax]

We have had this shit happening in Poland for a long time :( Ambulance drivers - contractors, nurses and doctors - contractors, working in big tech - contractors, working for universities and academia - contractors, sellers in grocery stores - contractors, cleaning people - contractors.

[@assamass]

In Europe, we have Bolt (ex. Taxify) for many years now. I used to drive for them some years back. You can get a negative income if you don't drive a beat-down 2005 Toyota Prius with an LPG (like it seems as 95% of drivers do here in LT).

[@melloncollic]

Thank you! Here in Germany (or the EU more broadly) this kind of pseudo-self-employment has been outlawed thankfully, but Uber drivers and such are still among the most exploited people ion the workforce and their attempts at unionizing are being hindered by the companies in any possible way.

[@epicwhat001]

What do you mean by pseudo self employment ? Do they get paid in play money ? No. It is work. You might not respect the work but it is work.

[@melloncollic]

@@epicwhat001 The point is that these people are not formerly employed but treated like independent contractors, while being basically bound to only one platform/app which means they are technically employed, but not legally, missing crucial protections.

[@SomeGuy-sd4kp]

@@epicwhat001 pseudo self employment (or false self employment) is the translation of "Scheinselbstständigkeit" which is the name of the law/crime in Germany. Basically if a company use self employed people who are so dependent on the company that they are in the end employees but earn less money the company is committing fraud. Uber, at least its taxi app, is actually banned in Germany and they only operate their premium Uber services in a single city in Germany (I assume with actual employees and not gig worker)

[@christophercorzo9584]

@@melloncollic I like that term it definitely fits 👍

[@fortheloveofnoise]

@@epicwhat001 You are noy very bright.

[@MiketheNerdRanger]

What?! 94% of job growth between 2005 and 2015 was through the gig economy?! Honestly, this blew my mind, but at the same time, I can't think of another way that growth could've happened.

[@alfiecdyson]

Haven’t even watched yet but this is so timely and urgent!

[@driamia3679]

I’ve worked 1099 jobs and even drove Uber for a month or two and I stopped because the costs I incurred were so great. Trading the wear and tear on my car, having to pay taxes on that income, and the out of pocket expenses was ridiculous - when in reality all I needed was a flexible schedule. This whole toxic “be your own boss” and “you can make up to this much a year” is baloney. I have a job with great benefits now and I do some 1099 work on the side but sparingly. Paid time off for personal/sick days, short term disability, life and health insurance, 401K match, tuition assistance, 24/7 EAP counseling, and the list goes on. I can’t go without these.

[@ex0stasis72]

Where I draw the line with gig work is if I have the freedom to choose my own pay as well as my own hours like I do with Task Rabbit where I charge up to $40/hour, but it depends on the job.

[@LucBoeren]

Great video, seriously. And I really appreciate your dedication to proper subtitles

[@MrGreg242]

Second thought, I really appreciate your videos and the packaging of the information. I use this information to help educate the Chuds at my workplace to try and get them to see that the way we do work and the working class are being crushed just like they were back in the gilded age

[@serpent77]

First they came for the golden watches, and I did nothing since I'd never get a golden watch. Then they came for the pensions, and I did nothing cause I'd never have a pension. Finally they came for full time positions with benefits, and I could do nothing since no one was there to help me fight it.

[@normalizedinsanity4873]

Right on. They launched a genocidal war But I did nothing, because the bombs weren't falling on my home

[@inflorire]

We’re here to fight with you ✊

[@stasacab]

I did my whole career in gig economy until early retirement. I never saw any labor union activity anywhere. I do not think bureaucratic unions were willing to see the challenge of gig economy.

[@MostlyEnds]

Doordash in Boulder Colorado last year paid out $.30/mile and now I don't have that car because the engine blew after investing $16,000 in repairs while doing delivery. It is a scam!

[@RationalSteve]

*Leaves a masters level ECON class *Watches Second Thought. Thank you for such a good insightful channel.

[@thetristanfrantz]

Independent contracting seems as though it could be the key to seizing the means of production. Being able to set your own hours and not having some supervisor breathe down your neck are just two of the infinity stones of workplace collectivization however. If we can secure gig worker's rights (sick/vacation pay, maintenance costs covered, workers comp, etc.), then it seems like the perfect alternative to flipping burgers or zoning shelves for a living. The next steps would of course be cutting off surplus value for the higher ups, and doing away with the power structure that allows oligarchical corporate leadership in favour of collective ownership of the workplace.

[@no_peace]

i really want there to be a non profit or co-op delivery app

[@jaradams]

I haven't read all the comments yet but I think it's worth acknowledging that In the US, education, that is to say, higher education has become a gig economy. 41% of all courses are taught by adjunct instructors, Who are paid a fractionof what full-time faculty are paid have no input into the actual curriculum and yet are teaching almost half the classes offered at any University

[@showcaseSampa]

Diploma mills or all of them altogether?

[@saramarkowicz]

Oh my gosh... This incredible video makes me think of what's happening in France too... We are lacking more and more doctors and anything that has to do with the health jobs because they're getting less and less paid and have more and more hoirs to work, so of courses, people are getting to jobs that are better paid... What the hell .

[@Αλέξανδρος-ω9β]

Et c'est aussi pareil pour les professeurs : je vais passer le CAPES dans pas longtemps et j'ai des amis qui sont déjà profs. Et ils finissent tous contractuels, à faire cours sur 2 ou 3 établissements à la fois, en étant payés moins qu'avant, avec des classes surchargés et à devoir faire des tonnes d'heures supplémentaires (aide aux devoirs, remplacements...) 😑 Finalement je sais pas si je veux toujours être prof C'est incroyable de voir à quel point la situation des États-Unis est la même qu'en France sur TOUS les niveaux (pénurie de médicaments, chômage, inflation, crise du logement, montée de l'extrême-droite, concentration des médias 😢)

[@harleyandfriends7778]

“I am a glutton for watch time” 😂😂 and we’re here for it!! Love your videos. Keep educating us!

[@wickedsamurai3323]

quality as always. if youve seen bad empanada's video or boy boy's most recent video, a lot of these critiques also apply to uber eats bike delivery drivers, which are everywhere in australia apparently. the danger those workers are in transporting peoples food is disturbing and inhumane.

[@wmjessemiller]

I made empanadas the other night

[@ryant.4555]

What's scary is that they feel safe enough to say that out loud and smile, it's time to take away that privilege.

[@alphastratus6623]

The sad thing: in most demanding jobs you learn a lot by your coworkers. I would definitely include nurses in this category. But when they work on their own or switch hospitals very fast there is no collegial bound and the newbies will learn way less, maybe nothing. Applied to a lot of jobs this risks our everyday wealth and lifestyle. It's the death to all cooperation on an everyday level as long it doesn't include money. It's the end of civilization.

[@toddbridges7430]

Agreed.

[@mistaree8394]

I find it amazing how much the narrative says how beneficial this system is while the blatant facts clearly show the opposite. Good video. Thanks.

[@digitaldcf]

I enjoyed your video so so much that your voice was even soothing that the video time went by so fast you’re awesome thank you