Until now, most of the people raising concerns about Uber in Burlington have been traditional cab drivers who fear their business is threatened by the behemoth ride-hailing company. But another group has joined the chorus.
Working Vermont, a coalition of labor unions, is calling on the city to require that Uber treat its drivers as employees — instead of as independent contractors — in the temporary operating agreement it’s hashing out with the company. That would mean Uber would pay unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation for its drivers.
Late last week, Necrason Group lobbyists David Mickenberg and Rebecca Ramos sent a letter on behalf of Working Vermont to Mayor Miro Weinberger, asking him to hold Uber to this requirement before signing off on an agreement. (Two city council committees are reviewing the agreement, which has not yet been finalized.)
Their demand came just ahead of a ruling by the California labor commissioner that holds that an Uber driver was an employee, not a contractor. Uber, which contends that its drivers are the latter, is appealing the ruling. It’s facing a number of legal challenges, but it has prevailed in several similar cases in other states.
The distinction between a contractor and an employee, which varies by state, can be hard to pinpoint, but it depends on the level of control a company exerts on the people who work for it.
As Seven Days reported in April, Vermont’s Department of Labor has for months been examining whether Uber drivers are employees under state law. “We are still looking into it,” confirmed Commissioner of Labor Annie Noonan on Thursday, adding, “We’re obviously very interested in what’s happening in these other jurisdictions.”
Among the factors the Vermont DOL is looking at: how Uber vets its drivers, a process that includes background checks, and its termination policies.
Determining whether a worker is an employee falls within the state’s purview, but Working Vermont is hoping Burlington will take advantage of any leverage it has during its negotiations. Weinberger could not be reached for comment.
Mickenberg said the letter wasn’t prompted by complaints from local Uber drivers. He said there is an opportunity to embrace new technology “in way that is responsible, which acknowledges traditions of Vermont and the value we place on protections for workers.”
In an email, an Uber spokesperson maintained: “Drivers who partner with us are properly classified as independent contractors and therefore, we are in compliance with the law.”
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As an Uber driver I can say that I have no interest in the efforts of the labor unions and wish they would stay out of the situation. This is simply a matter of a better product entering the marketplace that provides better service and is less invasive on both ends. I have also worked for Quik and Green cabs and both of those companies are broken they still live in a world where the taxi industry is a transportation industry and in the 21st century it is a customer service business and no one in Burlington got that memo. As far as the screening process getting signed up with uber while less invasive then the Burlington taxi licensing process it was in fact much more difficult. Firstly you need to own a car that is less then five years of age and maintain a cell phone with at least 3gb of data each month. Both of those requirements show that you are at least someone that has their eye on the ball. Then you need to be cleared both by the DMV and the local and national court systems. all in all it was much harder for me to meet the requirements of uber then it was to get a cab license in Burlington.
Instead of fighting change so often, labor unions would better serve their members by spending those resources on re-training workers to stay relevant. The historic taxi systems are going the way of landlines and print media, and for that matter, labor unions. It’s not clear that labor unions serve any purpose other than keeping inefficiency and prices high and productivity low.
Isn’t Uber the quintessential independent contractor model? It serves to connect drivers directly with passengers – it’s essentially a passthrough that organizes the person-to-person contact and takes some steps to make sure that everything is safe and smooth for both parties.
If UBER is so wonderful then why are all these law suits being filed against them? If UBER wants to have drivers in Burlington, then why not follow the law. Do background checks, make sure the driver is insured and have no criminal records.
I have read numerous articles about UBER drivers getting into accidents on the way to pick up a fare. They find out they are not covered under their insurance, as they lied to the insurance companies. You need special insurance to transport passengers. Yet the majority of UBER drivers do not have this insurance.
Modern Technology is wonderful, but it is taking away jobs from hard working citizens.
My question to parents, where are you expecting your kids to work in the future if you continue to rely on modern technology?
Buy local and spend local, only way to bring down costs.
Katie H: I for one am not saying Uber is awesome. I am simply saying that it is a more customer friendly and has much less hassle then using a cab in fact there needs to be no interface between you and the driver at all other then confirming a drop off location if you have put in your destination beforehand. No money changes hands so it is totally hassle free on both ends as the driver does not have to worry about getting paid as it is all handled by Uber. I too see where there is a disconnect with the insurance policy no doubt however Uber does Background checks and if you are using a car that is five years of age or less (which is required by Uber) then most likely you have to have full coverage for the finance company but even so proof of insurance is required by Uber. The big argument here is that Uber has come into town is is willing to make trips within Burlington for under $5 when the Taxi Industry is regulated (By the City Mind you) to charge $7.50. Given that FACT how is it going to lower prices to continue to support the same cab companies that continue to consistently disappoint their customers(look at Yelp ratings or other reviews).
To Be Continued below
I have worked for both Green Cab and Quik cab and I can tell you that they are consistently late and unapologetic about it. I would spend half my night smoothing things over with the customer as to why it took 40 minutes when they were told it would be 10 minutes. Or the best one s are when you would get sent to a customer that had been flat out forgotten, two or three cabs would be parked at the “base” and you would get dispatched to a person that had been waiting for 30-40 minutes. With Uber you get to see via GPS where your car is and if it is on its way rather then having to trust some cab company.
Again I agree that the insurance thing is an issue but it is a choice that each driver has to make and no one is forcing anyone to drive for Uber and if as you pointed out you are watching current events at all you know the facts about Uber and insurance especially considering you are deciding to work for them.
So your argument against uber is that it is too easy and convenient and therefore leads to kids not working hard??
if you are independent, then try to set your own rates after you’ve worked 12-18 hours a day because the driver market is saturated and the rates are peanuts