# The Uber boycott **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 29, 2017, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539 "2017-01-29T22:59:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/61 "2017-06-21T19:16:36Z")
Is Trump really the issue with Uber? I see it as a contributing factor only. Their culture of treating their employees like crap, their culture of skirting rules seems to be a much larger problem. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/62 "2017-06-21T20:03:44Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > and also, it doesn’t work in reality anyway, since he doesn’t listen. While true, I don’t think this was necessarily obvious 6 months ago. No one was quite sure if the man was mentally disabled, or if he just _played_ a mentally disabled man on TV. At any rate, Musk is also off the committee since it proved to be a giant waste. As before, I wouldn’t criticize anyone for trying to talk to Trump, but at this point I have a hard time believing any of them would have any success. So mainly I hope they find something better to do with their time. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/63 "2017-06-21T20:21:36Z")
On a side note, the boycott-Uber movement really should use the hashtag #Unter. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/64 "2017-06-21T20:25:47Z")
Uber is probably going to end up as the Myspace of ride sharing. Facebook at least has stickiness, because you have to be on Facebook to see what your friends and family are doing on Facebook. But who cares about the name of the app that you use to hail a rideshare? Uber doesn’t have any particular advantage in being first. And if your business model is “Use us because everyone else is using us”, then it seems like you’d go out of your way to avoid needlessly annoying your employees and customers. Especially since it would take your drivers five minutes to sign up with a different app, and your customers one minute to install a different app. The advantage Uber has is they have a lot more drivers, which means it’s easier for customers to find a ride, which means more customers use Uber, which means more drivers want to sign up with Uber. But this can literally change overnight if the correlation of forces is different. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/65 "2017-06-21T22:36:22Z")
That’s a great analogy. Newscorp lost something like $550 million on MySpace. I wonder how much the Uber investors stand to lose if it goes down that path? ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/66 "2017-06-22T01:30:44Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Is Trump really the issue with Uber? I see it as a contributing factor only. Their culture of treating their employees like crap, their culture of skirting rules seems to be a much larger problem. They don’t have any employees. The drivers are on their own. No stable employment, no corporate healthcare or retirement issues exist. Uber’s dream is of a multinational zillion dollar company with driverless cars that don’t even need hired help. None for me, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/67 "2017-06-22T01:45:02Z")
Politics or not, I loathe Uber. Everything about it sucks, it bothers me ideologically (corporate practices) and day to day as well. When these clowns without any training just like to pull over in turning lanes to pick people up and drive slow and stop repeatedly on streets, obviously using GPS and not knowing how streets are numbered, I lose my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/68 "2017-06-22T01:46:11Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > They don’t have any employees. The drivers are on their own. No stable employment, no corporate healthcare or retirement issues exist. Uber’s dream is of a multinational zillion dollar company with driverless cars that don’t even need hired help. None for me, thanks. They have employees for sure in their corporate offices where numerous harassment lawsuits have been filed. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/69 "2017-06-22T02:15:47Z")
This is bad but not for the reasons stated. The tech industry is in a true bubble (again) and Uber is the California Condor in the coal mine. It is incredibly overvalued, mismanaged and just an idea that isn’t very difficult to replace. The problem is, if it goes down suddenly, it will have a huge effect on Silicon Valley as a whole and possibly have a cascading effect on the entire U.S. economy. I am not taking up for Uber. That is just the natural sequence of events and no one wants to see another tech melt-down like 2001 - 2003. It is bad news for everyone. It doesn’t have that much to do with Uber itself. Lots of companies are mismanaged. What you don’t want to see is a general freeze in tech investment that affects everyone short of Alphabet (Google), Apple and Microsoft. That quickly erodes one of the most vibrant sectors of U.S. investment and domination. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/70 "2017-06-22T03:19:09Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > What you don’t want to see is a general freeze in tech investment that affects everyone short of \*\*\*\*Alphabet (Google), Apple and Microsoft. \*\*\*\*That quickly erodes one of the most vibrant sectors of U.S. investment and domination. Don’t forget Larry ! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/71 "2017-06-22T04:08:57Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The options presented were “do business with Trump” or “go out of business.” Doing business in a socially responsible way wasn’t one of the options offered. This is a major excluded middle isn’t it? Much business will surely carry on regardless, without particularly doing business with Trump. > [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > They don’t have any employees. The drivers are on their own. No stable employment, no corporate healthcare or retirement issues exist. Uber’s dream is of a multinational zillion dollar company with driverless cars that don’t even need hired help. None for me, thanks. Vast numbers of taxi drivers around the world work under those conditions anyway. Some work for a company that pays wages, holidays etc but most own or lease their own cab and get no benefits. Yet this debate is conducted like Uber is an outlier, and taxi driving is some sort of cushy or at least stable job. Further, in many parts of the world (including much of the US as I understand it) taxis work under a state monopoly system that results in the value of a taxi licence or medallion being extremely high, meaning that drivers (directly or indirectly) often have a huge debt over their head as a consequence of having to buy a huge “paper asset” that does nothing at all for them or their customers. I use Uber a lot. My estimation is that over half are ex-taxi drivers. They like Uber because they say while the money is about the same or slightly less, the fact they can set their own hours and are totally their own boss means its far preferable. The taxi vs Uber debate - as regards driver benefits - probably has to be considered on a jurisdiction by jurisdiction basis because no doubt the comparison varies depending on how bad/good taxis were to drivers in the first place. But around here, drivers are voting with their feet and that says a lot. > [@anomalous1](#): > > When these clowns without any training just like to pull over in turning lanes to pick people up and drive slow and stop repeatedly on streets, obviously using GPS and not knowing how streets are numbered, I lose my mind. Whereas taxi drivers the world over are courteous law abiding drivers and always know the city they drive in. Is to frickin’ laugh. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/72 "2017-06-22T04:26:35Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Is Trump really the issue with Uber? I see it as a contributing factor only. Their culture of treating their employees like crap, their culture of skirting rules seems to be a much larger problem. I’d be much more likely to avoid using Uber because of the reports that until recently they’ve basically ignored sexual harassment claims from their employees – rather than because of anything to do with Trump. I know they’ve recently fired some people over this (and I presume the CEO’s resignation is at least partly about this), but it seems too soon to tell how much they’ve really changed their ways. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/73 "2017-06-22T04:51:55Z")
When the CEO sends a letter with a rulebook about how to have sex with coworkers on an offsute, I’m going to say there is a cultural issue there, even if the rulebook says good things like, make sure the other person(s) give you permission. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/74 "2017-06-22T06:41:08Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > When the CEO sends a letter with a rulebook about how to have sex with coworkers on an offsute, I’m going to say there is a cultural issue there, even if the rulebook says good things like, make sure the other person(s) give you permission. There was nothing wrong about that email and I urge you to quote any offending passages. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/75 "2017-06-22T12:01:47Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Further, in many parts of the world (including much of the US as I understand it) taxis work under a state monopoly system that results in the value of a taxi licence or medallion being extremely high, meaning that drivers (directly or indirectly) often have a huge debt over their head as a consequence of having to buy a huge “paper asset” that does nothing at all for them or their customers. Why would that be “high” instead of, say, appropriate to the circs, and the needs of workers to be provided with a income commensurate with dignity and self determination? Uber’s subsidised pricing is intended to kill all competition before they raise prices - you my be aware of this not overly sophisticated tactic. > [@Princhester](#): > > I use Uber a lot. My estimation is that over half are ex-taxi drivers. They like Uber because they say while the money is about the same or slightly less, the fact they can set their own hours and are totally their own boss means its far preferable. It’s cheaper, right? You support exploitation is all. You’ve asked your Uber pals about sickness pay, vacation pay, a guaranteed minimum wage, unsocial hours, excessive working, strain on family? Nah. It’s cheaper, right? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/76 "2017-06-22T13:23:42Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > There was nothing wrong about that email and I urge you to quote any offending passages. No need to quote when the very act of writing it displayed incredible tone deafness. Should CEO’s write rules on having sex with co-workers? Unless working in the porn business, I’m going to say no. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/77 "2017-06-22T14:27:40Z")
I still use Uber where I live because Lyft is very weak and taxis practically nonexistent. My first choice is always to use a regular taxi if one is available. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/78 "2017-06-22T14:33:08Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > It’s cheaper, right? You support exploitation is all. > > You’ve asked your Uber pals about sickness pay, vacation pay, a guaranteed minimum wage, unsocial hours, excessive working, strain on family? Nah. It’s cheaper, right? **Princhester** lives in Australia, where Uber is probably slightly less exploitative than in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/79 "2017-06-22T14:40:58Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > You’ve asked your Uber pals about sickness pay, vacation pay, a guaranteed minimum wage, unsocial hours, excessive working, strain on family? Nah. It’s cheaper, right? I don’t. Because every Uber driver I have met is an adult and thus capable of weighing tradeoffs and reaching a decision him or herself. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539/80 "2017-06-22T14:52:47Z")
As a matter of law I think it’s interesting to think about whether Uber drivers should be considered employees or not. As a matter of my personal take is that the drivers know the deal when they sign up so that’s on them. The culture of harassment and nonchalant view of operating within the rules is much more damning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-uber-boycott/778539.md?page=5)