The ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft are threatening to pull up stakes and leave Minneapolis over Mayor Jacob Frey’s new bill that could destroy the companies and the drivers who rely on their income.
Frey is torn between satisfying the virtue-signaling liberals on the city council and satisfying the needs of reality by vetoing the bill.
Both Uber and Lyft have promised to take their business elsewhere if Frey signs the measure.
The bill would require that minimum wages be paid to drivers. The proposed ordinance mandates that at least $1.40 per mile and $0.51 per minute within Minneapolis be paid to drivers. The city council voted 7-5 in favor of the measure. The reality is that there would be few drivers earning wages since both Uber and Lyft would be out of town permanently.
But when did reality ever stop the left?
The attraction of these ride-share companies is that the customer and driver negotiate the fee. This seems to have escaped the brain-dead leftists pushing the mayor to sign the bill.
The proposed ordinance mandates at least $1.40 per mile and $0.51 per minute within Minneapolis be paid to drivers. Minneapolis is debating the minimum wage as gig workers across the country are advocating for fair wages and job benefits. In recent years, states and cities have attempted to pass legislation regarding the growing “gig economy,” or freelance work through apps like Uber and Grubhub, but have generally met with fierce opposition.
Are gig workers across the country advocating for “fair wages and job benefits? Most gig workers do not support government interference of any kind in their work — especially when it comes to wages and benefits. The drivers know that whatever scheme the government comes up with, it will likely mean less money for them.
The whole point of gig work is to avoid the government nonsense like licenses, set wages and benefits, and enjoy the freedom of setting their own hours and negotiating their own wages.
“Today was a day that we have been fighting for a long, long time,” said Eid Ali, president of the Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association. “It’s a day that we will be celebrating for quite some time because it’s the day that workers won.”
What is it exactly that workers have “won”?
“If this bill were to pass, we would unfortunately have no choice but to greatly reduce service, and possibly shut down operations entirely,” Uber wrote.
Frey is urging the council to wait on a task force on Uber and Lyft compensation convened by the governor comes back with policy recommendations, which are due on Jan. 1.
Both companies have warned the proposed minimum rate will lead demand to plummet and ultimately hurt drivers’ wages.
Lyft, in a letter to the council, said a $20 trip would double to $40 under the ordinance, while rides in low-income areas would be more expensive than a taxi cab in Manhattan. Lyft said drivers in Minneapolis last quarter earned an average of $37 per utilized hour — the time between accepting a ride and dropping off a passenger — including tips and bonuses.
The prospect of higher rates has drawn pushback from some disabled residents who fear a service they depend on could become unaffordable. Council President Andrea Jenkins authored an amendment, which was included in the final ordinance, that entitles drivers with wheelchair accessible vehicles to a higher minimum rate.
Stupidly, the left is daring the companies to leave. And they’re trying to say drivers are “forced to work grueling hours.”
A Minneapolis city committee approved an ordinance Tuesday that would require a minimum wage for rideshare drivers.
In emotional testimony, Uber driver Ahmed Ahmed said drivers are forced to work grueling hours to make a living wage. “I don’t have time for my kids,” he said. pic.twitter.com/6d50sHoSx9
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) August 9, 2023
- Most Uber and Lyft drivers drive part time. 51% of Uber drivers work 15 hours a week or fewer. Only 19% are really driving full-time (35 hours per week and more) compared with 81% of regular taxi drivers and chauffeurs.
- Nobody is forcing anyone to do anything.
The left cannot accept a different way of working. They can’t control it. Nor can they control the workers. As blue states and cities drive the gig economy away, customers and owners in red states will benefit.