DoorDash’s about-face on tipping shows customers have more clout than workers

Re:DoorDash’s about-face on tipping shows customers have mor... by toomuchtodo on Thursday July 25, 2019 @02:36PM (#20528099)

> This is pretty much always going to be true in unspecilized labor.

Not when regulation steps in. That is what labor law and regulation is for.

The "gig economy" was a tech industry attempt to sidestep labor law, and the law is finally catching up. And mind you, you don't have to outlaw how gig workers are currently treated as contractors everywhere to break these platforms; just in places large enough that without those markets, the platform is no longer barely sustainable (for example, 25% of Uber's bookings occur in just five cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and São Paulo). It doesn't matter much for platforms if gig workers are still legal in say, Wyoming.

https://www.wired.com/story/california-lawmakers-move-protec... (Wired: California Lawmakers Move to Protect Gig-Economy Workers)

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Re:DoorDash’s about-face on tipping shows customers have mor... by kd5bjo on Thursday July 25, 2019 @03:22PM (#20528557)

> It doesn't matter much for platforms if gig workers are still legal in say, Wyoming.

Why not? While brand recognition is valuable, it makes sense to operate in any jurisdiction in which you operate at a profit. At this point, all of the infrastructure to build the platform in the first place is a sunk cost, though if their total operating volume falls dramatically there maybe some work involved in turning down excess capacity to reduce ongoing costs.

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Re:DoorDash’s about-face on tipping shows customers have mor... by fuzz4lyfe on Thursday July 25, 2019 @03:20PM (#20528527)

What regulation ever caused firms to care more about workers than their customers?

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Re:DoorDash’s about-face on tipping shows customers have mor... by knightofmars on Thursday July 25, 2019 @03:31PM (#20528657)

I don't think anyone said "care". Regulations are meant to force firms to meet a minimum level of a requirement (eg safety, anti-discrimination, etc).

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Re:DoorDash’s about-face on tipping shows customers have mor... by Spivak on Thursday July 25, 2019 @02:43PM (#20528183)

You'll have no disagreement from me but I'm not sure I would say that collective government action is a form of worker influence but rather broader societal influence.

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Re:DoorDash’s about-face on tipping shows customers have mor... by toomuchtodo on Thursday July 25, 2019 @02:45PM (#20528201)

I agree. It's not about consumers, or workers, but citizens as a whole and the society they want to exist in.

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