'My income vanished overnight with no safety net'

[Elwood P Dowd]

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-52028108/coronavirus-the-struggle-of-being-a-ride-share-driver

Julie Davis is a ride-share driver in the virus hotspot of Seattle - watch her emotional video diary.

[LisaM]

1. The gig economy....

Such a chimera. I have railed against it for years, don't use it, and am not surprised by this. Uber (its very name should give people pause, with its Nazi overtones) is not about to help out its erstwhile employees. Neither is Lyft or Air BnB, or Amazon Go.

I feel bad for the workers caught up in this but the gig economy has always been a bad thing and very mis-representing of what it is (it pushes this benign notion of people supplementing their incomes by making money off their own houses and cars, but the reality is vastly different).

[SWBTATTReg]

3. Absolutely (a bad thing, the gig economy)...you make very good points. Be Safe!

[former9thward]

11. The Gig economy rose because there was a need for it.

They serve areas which were not being served. Taxis were charging outrageous prices working people could not afford. In addition, in places like where I live, Chicago, Taxi drivers would not go where minorities live and work. Uber and Lyft do.

[LisaM]

12. I can't say taxi companies and municipalities are blameless.

They aren't, particularly the municipalities that limited the medallions and didn't treat them as essential. We agree on that, I think.

It doesn't mean the gig economy is a good thing. It's not.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. This GIG economy is going to either disappear or really shrink quite a bit. Lyft and Uber aren't...

and other ride share companies aren't paying their workers obviously enough compensation to take this risk, and this is how an economy works...yeah, sure the owners gobbled up 10s of millions of dollars in stock when they IPO'ed their companies (uber, lyft, etc.), and giving their drivers little if anything.

Now, these owners are facing the destruction of their companies, and they're obviously doing very little to prevent damage to either the business or the drivers (which is one of the most important components I'd say). I didn't hear this driver say what so ever that the company values her so much, that they'll give her an extra $100 a week (per 35+ hours a week worked) or anything else, such as time off.

Home Depot, I've remarked (my SO works there), has given all full time an extra 2 weeks paid time off. Unlimited time off if sick. An extra $100 a week. All of the cleaning supplies needed for their work stations. All employees over 65+, an extra (on top of) 2 weeks additional time off (4 weeks total). This is the kind of company that I'm actually proud of and surprised by, being the owner is a rump lover (I guess miracles do happen). Home Depot by the way quit hiring as of Friday the 27th of March.

Be safe and healthy.

[MineralMan]

4. Time to switch to take-out food delivery, I think.

That's a growth gig business right now.

Not only take-out restaurants, but other food delivery, like supermarkets. There's room in both of those areas.

[LisaM]

5. Some of these services actually hurt the restaurants.

Use the ones that have their own drivers if you can.

[MineralMan]

6. Here's the thing. Restaurants can't keep up with

orders right now. There's no inside service, so people are ordering for delivery. The restaurants are hurting financially, so they can't afford to pay drivers. The gig food delivery people cost the restaurant nothing.

Think about it. The gig drivers make some money, the restaurants can keep up with orders, and the people get to eat sooner.

Restaurant-employed drivers can't handle the number of orders that are coming in. Gig drivers can fill that gap.

See, I'm trying to help that woman in Washington survive.

[LisaM]

7. That's fine for now, but my larger point is still valid.

Yes, suspend the rules for now. I get that.

But when this is all over, can we please take a careful look at the dangers of a gig economy? It's a bad thing.

[MineralMan]

9. We're in a "Needs Must" situation.

Truly. We can deal with longer-term stuff later, I think. Right now, people need survival ideas.

[LisaM]

10. Yes I am agreeing with you on this.

But it breaks my heart to see these gig economy workers hung out to dry and it makes me cross that I know people personally who supported it because it saved them a few minutes or bucks. People who were militant on $15 minimum wage, but ordered online or used GrubHub or Uber anyway, knowing that the people in those jobs weren't guaranteed that wage.

[LisaM]

8. It's also not true that these apps don't cost restaurants

In normal times - these are not normal times- they do.

https://www-newyorker-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/are-delivery-apps-killing-restaurants/amp?amp_js_v=a3&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=15854149092180&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fculture%2Fannals-of-gastronomy%2Fare-delivery-apps-killing-restaurants

[Celerity]

13. Mulberry & Vine (from the story in your link)

https://www.mulberryandvine.com/locations/

[Ms. Toad]

14. I agree that gig economy is bad -

But what I get from the article is "We don't know - we don't have the ability to calculate it." (Something similar was said at least twice in the article.)

I call BS on that. If you are paying a delivery service (or giving them a portion of the cost of the meal), you know the numbers and can calculate it. You can calculate your prior costs - and compare. You can calculate your dine-in census prior to the delivery services - compare it to now, and figure in your total meals served.

(I would not have a problem with - we haven't run the numbers. My problem is with suggesting there is anything hidden in their cash income our outflow. If they can't find those number and do those calculations, they don't have the business sense to stay in business.)

[Marrah_Goodman]

15. She can now apply for unemployment and even get 600+ a week thanks to the Dems!