[throwaway_law]

Cost/Benefit.

Uber doesn't want drivers classified as employees so they don't have to pay minimum wage, provide employee benefits, pay payroll taxes, or otherwise comply with the law vis-a-vis employees.

Yet, it is one thing for Uber to hire drivers as contractors individually where Uber has full control over the terms, in other words no driver is in a position to negotiate their contract with Uber...it is an entirely different thing for the drivers to be organized and those organized drivers now be in a position to negotiate (almost like a union).

I think the last thing Uber would do is assist the drivers in organizing...its not just the ability for them to negotiate with Uber collectively either, at that point said driver contracting firm(s) would then be in a position to launch their own ride-share app to compete, unlike say these Amazon driver firms would can't just launch an Amazon competitor.

[middleload]

In my country, working as an Uber driver gets you a good salary. I think it's around 1000€ (minimum wage being less than 500€). Is it different in USA? Do they get less than minimum wage for 8 hours?

[cj]

According to one analysis [1], working for Uber pays $8.80-$11 per hour (after subtracting car related expenses).

The federal minimum wage is $7.25/hr. But certain cities are much higher, for example New York City is $15.00. In San Francisco, it’s $15.59.

Also worth mentioning that most of these averages are not taken from drivers working full-time (40 hours per week). So while they may be able to make near minimum wage on an hourly basis, they may not be able to achieve that hourly rate for a full 40 hours per week due to fluctuating demand for rides.

[1] https://www.ridester.com/how-much-do-uber-drivers-make

[jcranberry]

Do minimum wage workers typically get the option to get health care?

[cj]

It depends if they’re part-time or full-time.

Companies are not required to offer health insurance to part-time employees. Employers with more than 50 employees are required to offer health insurance to full time employees.

(IANAL)

[prostoalex]

The crux of the interpretation is what constitutes an hour of work.

Once the ride starts with a paying client in the car, the hourly earnings are easily above minimum wage.

But what about the time spent logged into the app waiting for a ride? If you take a standpoint that's friendly to Uber, that is not billable time - the driver could potentially be working in other capacity (including doing gigs for direct and indirect competitors, like Lyft, Postmates, TaskRabbit, etc.) If you take a standpoint that's employee-friendly, this is similar to a store register clerk being by the register with no customers in the store - they're still present to perform their duties when necessary and therefore must be compensated.

[gnopgnip]

How are you measuring the hours exactly? Just time when a passenger is in the car? Time on the way to pick up the passenger until you drop them off? All the time logged in and looking for a rides?

How do you factor in the car related expenses? And what about depreciation and other expenses beyond the direct out of pocket costs?

It is certainly possible to spend more than 8 hours trying to get rides, and end up with less than 8 hours worth of minimum wage pay after subtracting vehicle costs.

[jakelazaroff]

Depends on where. New York for example guarantees an hourly wage. But yes, in general they often make less than minimum wage: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/01/uber-lyft...