‘It’s definitely backfiring’: Seattle ordinance intended to help app delivery workers is ‘hurting’ them::undefined

  • Cyber Yuki@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Did the ordinance specify that the app companies would have to absorb the costs and NOT pass them to the users? No? Ah, well, that explains it then.

    • wahming@monyet.cc
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      9 months ago

      How exactly would they absorb the costs? Most of them aren’t even turning a profit as it is

      Edit: Not sure why the downvotes. I support the ordinance, minimum wages are great. But the cost is obviously going to the customers, where else would it go?

      • BombOmOm@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        the cost is obviously going to the customers, where else would it go?

        People have this idea that you can bleed money from corps and that corps will magic the money from somewhere other than customers.

      • Cyber Yuki@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        By decreasing billionaire executive bonuses, of course. You realize apps like Uver give shitty pay to the drivers and keep most of the profits for the execs, don’t you?

        Repeat after me: They are MIDDLEMEN.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      How would that work, really? I can’t figure out how that could be regulated.

      • Cyber Yuki@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago
        1. Establish a wage floor.

        2. Establish a price cap.

        If the corporation can’t make a profit from this, then perhaps their business model was not viable in the first place.

        • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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          9 months ago

          A price cap seems to be based on the premise that not having a service at all is better then having it be too expensive. I find that idea very questionable.

          • Cyber Yuki@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            “Let’s treat our workers like slaves or else the entire economy will suffer” is a far worse take IMHO.

            • jdeath@lemm.ee
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              9 months ago

              i don’t think that is what they meant. is that a strawman you’re slaying?

        • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Replace that price cap with a wage cap for the people at the top that is based on the wages of everyone else in the company and companies it contracts (to avoid the obvious loophole as well as giving an actual mechanism for “trickle down”).

        • hydrospanner@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          “No fair! Our business model was very simple: price gouge the customer while exploiting our labor force!”

    • Antergo@lemmy.ml
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      9 months ago

      Thats not how economics works, if the cost of a product goes up one way or another, the price goes up, one way or another

  • wahming@monyet.cc
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    9 months ago

    https://web.archive.org/web/20240205222645/https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle-ordinance-intended-app-delivery-workers-hurting-them/281-9516c79c-3161-41f3-a662-798b9db16d3f

    It’s also mentioned that the amount of drivers has risen sharply since the ordinance went into effect, as drivers from surrounding areas have moved in to try to take advantage of the higher prices. So yeah, doesn’t sound like the ordinance is at fault, sounds like more places just need to implement it themselves

    • KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      9 months ago

      This is the crux of most of this kinda of piecemeal legislation. If the change is localized, people just move to the place that suits them best.

      The same thing happens with sugar tax on drinks at the local level, people just buy their drinks elsewhere.

      It needs to be state wide to make much of a difference overall.

      • zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        The same thing happens with sugar tax on drinks at the local level, people just buy their drinks elsewhere.

        Right. So, I’m going to travel to the the next town over just to save 50 cents on a bottle of soda? These are often impulse buys, anyway.

  • Steve@communick.news
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    9 months ago

    I expect this is temporary as the market adjusts to the new prices. Eventually drivers will leave since its not worth it to them, increasing the orders per driver. And some amount of people ordering will come back once the sticker shock passes. It’ll work out.

    • Veedem@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      That’s my thinking, too. I wonder how many new drivers started once the ordinance was passed in an attempt to catch the higher wage being spoken about.

    • Habahnow@sh.itjust.works
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      9 months ago

      In addition, increase pay, so the supply goes high while demand drops. It will be interesting how this works out in a year from now.