https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/uber-lyft-doordash-drivers-us-strike-valentines-day-fair-pay-rcna138450
The strike call is the first since Uber and Lyft went public in 2019. Drivers will picket outside airports and Uber offices, two groups said.
so should I, as a consumer looking to help them make their point, *try *to use the service that day or avoid doing so?
That's the dangers of no social net.
If people boycott them, the workers get no pay. And for many of them, they need it.
If people keep using it, they continue their shitty practices
What about contacting them and telling them you'd like to place an order but won't be because of the long wait times (which should reflect in the apps if they're striking)? You can include a suggestion that they pay a fair wage to attract enough drivers to meet the demand they're failing to meet.
Especially that prices and fees have more than doubled in the last couple years with no benefits to the workers. On top of that I'm expected to tip 20%
The programmers and customer service people? Probably not, those are valuable skills though and those people won't have a hard time finding work.
If you mean drivers, they don't employee any drivers. They have a lot of 1099 contractors that aren't fairly compensated.
The price of everything is increasing and none of the profits are going to low wage employees. If I'm going to pay $20 for a Value Meal I'd rather it go to the cook or the delivery driver but it doesn't, the fees go to the corporations in charge. The best, most effective way for me to protest is by not using their services.
Of course I mean drivers; that's what this thread is about!
If people stop using the service, those drivers will have to find new jobs. Boycotting the services does nothing to help them find a new job; if it's successful, a boycott just takes away the drivers' choice to keep the job they have. Obviously they want to keep their jobs, or they'd just quit instead of striking.
They're striking for higher wages, I doubt any of them care about the specific work.
If a company is unable to pay their employees a livable wage they shouldn't exist. And IMO the "gig economy" takes away the bargaining power of workers, these companies exist purely as middlemen to extract profit on transactions. They're leeches on society, just another solution looking for a made up problem.
I never said they cared about their specific jobs. I said they want to keep the jobs they have. I don't know if you've noticed, but looking for work totally sucks.
Keep in mind, the drivers for these apps often take these jobs because they can't hold down a normal job. Either due to disability, mental health, or just plain unemployable personality traits keep them from maintaining a normal 9-5. Many of these people can't find other work. They sign up for these apps because they don't have any boss to answer to, they don't have a schedule to follow, and they don't have any real rules that they need to adhere to.
Plus there are many that can and do hold regular jobs but need the extra, or are between jobs after layoffs and are just trying to keep a roof over their head until their next job or first couple of paychecks come in.