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Uber Drivers Say “No Thanks” To AB 5: Flexibility Is Better Than Becoming Employees

7 min read

People

Uber Drivers Say “No Thanks” To AB 5: Flexibility Is Better Than Becoming Employees

Calvin Dobbins August 29, 2019

Rideshare drivers show massive displeasure after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s assembly Bill 5, designed to reclassify independent contractors as regular employees.

Although coming with good intentions, AB 5 fails to consider the ground-level repercussions, ultimately making things more difficult for gig economy workers.

We’ve seen several protests and anger over the widescale ill-treatment of drivers by rideshare giants like Uber and Lyft. But when it comes down to it, most drivers prefer having the flexibility and freedom to choose their own timings over becoming employees. Let’s explore why.

Why Drivers Reject AB 5

On paper, the AB 5 bill seems to give gig workers a cushy deal on a silver platter. The new reform would bring positive changes like paid sick leaves, health benefits, and stringent minimum wage rules. So why is the bill met with a scoff and a general thumbs down?

It’s very simple; drivers can turn on the app when they want to work and switch it off when they’re done. It makes things like dropping their kids off at school and picking them back up an easy task. What’s more, no one can stop them from taking a month off, or even two for that matter. Right now, the companies they work with don’t have the power to control them, and that could change with the AB 5 bill.

Of course, plenty of other companies claim to offer flexible hours. But it’s nothing like the freedom you get when driving for Uber or Lyft on your own terms and timings.

With all this to consider, we aren’t surprised that drivers aren’t the least bit interested in letting all that go to become full-time employees of a company that never really bothered about their problems in the first place. And that’s why most drivers would rather quit.

A Night At An LAX Lot

We traveled to an LAX holding lot, where we interviewed several drivers waiting for their next rides. The consensus amongst these drivers is that they prefer flexibility over anything else. Choosing their own working hours is the biggest reason they do this, and no amount of benefits can replace it.

Amidst the sound of planes flying overhead, we spoke to Hayk, an Uber driver with severe concerns over the new bill. “They (Lawmakers) don’t live our lives,” he says as he patiently waits for the next ping.

Hayk lives in a two-bedroom apartment for which he pays $2500. His wife works a full-time job, so he has to take the kids to school and pick them up afterward. He emphasizes that no other job with particular shift timings will allow him to do all that. Being an Uber driver is the only way he can take care of his personal chores and work at his convenience.

When asked about the health benefits, Hayk sneers and voices his skepticism. He doesn’t believe the benefits are worth giving up his freedom and signing up as an employee. “Any time they change something, they make it worse.”

“If you’re not driving over 50 hours a week, you cannot make any money”, Says Brain Lee, a Pasadena-based driver with over two years of experience. Lee usually drives approximately 50 to 60 hours weekly, and the new law might prevent him from doing so.

You see, the moment Lee becomes an employee, his company would have to pay him overtime for the extra hours. It might sound on paper, but it’s not practical when you think about it.

The app won’t send him trip requests after he crosses the 40-hour threshold. Beyond this point, he would need special permission to keep getting requests. It will force him to moonlight at a different company if he wants to make up for the remaining 20 hours.

And then there’s the question of companies simply cutting down on the number of available drivers. That’s something employees won’t have any control over, unlike now. Becoming an employee puts them at the company’s whims and brings the possibility of getting fired due to downsizing, budget cuts, or any other factor.

An Arcadia chef, Joel Turk, speaks to us with a soft-spoken charm. Turk would have been open to getting health benefits six months back when his wife was a contract worker. But ever since she got a studio job with health benefits, Turk isn’t enticed by the offer anymore.

The Smokey-Robinson look-alike owns several large vehicles, which allows him to make small deliveries for UPS and work as an XL category driver for Lyft and Uber. He also uses his cars for his catering company.

As a father of four kids who attend four different schools, Turk needs the time to drop off and pick up all his children. His cooking and food preps also make his work (driving) timings very particular. Considering all of the above, there’s no way he would agree to become a ride-sharing company employee that would make him conform to stringent work timings.

Lyft Driver and Orange County resident, Kent, seems more relaxed on the matter than his peers. He believes it will take years for any change to come through, and he’s not exactly wrong. There will obviously be many court hearings and appeals before anything solid occurs. Plus, several delivery startups and rideshare companies already plan on fighting the bill tooth and nail. All of this indicates a lengthy and expensive trial.

“They’re willing to spend $30 million to fight it? Just pay us that $30 million.”, Kent jokes. He used to drive for Amazon some years back and had plenty of criticism regarding the ever-decreasing ride fares. Kent believes that companies keep trying to make rides cheaper through pool systems. He compares it to public transportation and claims it will ruin things for everyone.

After all, what’s the point of bringing down prices to $2 per ride if nobody makes any money in the end? Ride-sharing is convenient for people; if they wanted to go on the bus, they would spend $2 over there instead.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 06: Uber vehicles are lined up at the new ‘LAX-it’ ride-hail passenger pickup lot at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on November 6, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. The airport has instituted a ban on Lyft, Uber and taxi curbside pickups as airport construction increases during a modernization program. Passengers have complained of long wait times and confusion at the pickup area, especially during peak hours. Passengers must depart their terminal and then ride a shuttle bus or walk to the separate pickup lot. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Analyzing The Real Problem

By this point, we’ve understood that the AB 5 bill brings many problems for the people it aims to help. Forcing companies to pay a regulated minimum wage and provide health insurance sounds like the noble thing to do. However, we must also ask where the money for such policies will come from.

We’ve already seen the downsides of the $15 per hour rule. Rather than help employees, it ended up with many losing shifts and jobs, as smaller companies couldn’t afford to pay these wages. As a result, many businesses had to downsize just to make a profit. We fear the same will happen due to the AB 5 bill.

Harry Campbell runs a popular podcast and blog called the “Rideshare Guy” and offers us some fascinating insight over the phone. According to him, turning freelance drivers into employees can solve rideshare companies’ oldest problem: driver retention.

Companies constantly have to spend tons of money just to replace the drivers they have lost. Looking at a leaked report from 2017, we can confirm that only 4% of drivers stayed with a company for more than one year. It is mainly because the work is incredibly stressful, highly demanding, and less profitable than people think.

What’s glaringly evident is that companies will face increased costs in the wake of employee benefits. Campbell suspects that this will result in a slight increase in fare prices, approximately $2 per ride.

The multi-talented persona reveals that customers didn’t have to pay the full price for rides until now. Companies deliberately decreased fare prices to get more customers while spending millions yearly on bonuses to get drivers to continue working.

He also points out that most company losses are subsidized, thanks to venture capitalists. As a result, customers, corporate employees, and investors walked out with a fantastic deal. However, things have always stayed the same for drivers or gotten even worse. Campbell claims that the only supporters of the AB 5 bill are the same drivers who have faced the worst scenarios so far.

Conclusion

The AB 5 bill will be closely watched by everyone at this point. As of now, most drivers don’t seem to support the bill and state they would rather quit than be forced to become Lyft or Uber employees. Freedom is the most important thing for these drivers, and we can’t really blame them.

Our investigation has brought to light several issues with the AB 5 bill, which presents itself as a noble fix and solution for the plights of millions of gig workers in the country. Forcing companies to reclassify gig workers as “employees” might increase costs, ultimately making things worse for the drivers. If profit margins are threatened, companies will simply terminate a large portion of drivers or have to increase ride prices, ultimately leading to fewer customers. After much analysis, it’s clear that the AB 5 bill is far from perfect, and as the sun rises over Los Angeles, we are left wondering, who does the AB 5 bill really benefit? Definitely not the drivers.

The Paul Smith Pink Wall Instagram Landmark Costs $60,000 Per Year To Maintain

7 min read

Places

The Paul Smith Pink Wall Instagram Landmark Costs $60,000 Per Year To Maintain

Cheyenne Grippa March 8, 2019

Paul Smith had one thing in mind as he created the Instagram-famous Pink Wall; to be as recognizable and appreciable as the Eiffel Tower. Trademarked with Pink, the Iconic Wall stands vibrant and forever “Instragamable.”

Droves of people flock and keep leaning against the dazzling pink wall of Paul Smith’s Flagship store on Melrose Avenue. A group of friends, all women, wearing heavy makeup, dressed in expensive mini-skirts and stylish bucket hats, leaning into each other. They pose, putting on their best model faces as a group member extends her long arm to get that perfect We-fie.

Another woman in her early twenties, influenced by the latest pop culture, dressed in fancy sweatpants and baseball hat, strikes a pose tilting her head to the side, throwing up the popular mini heart gesture as her friends takes pictures of her.

Well, it turns out the women have come all the way from South Korea to do their own pink wall shoots. Makes you wonder how on earth they discovered Paul Smith’s iconic Pink Wall.

Fortunately, “Instagram,” they yelled simultaneously while giggling to their heart’s content.

It’s estimated that there are at least 100,000 or more people who journey to the store’s pink wall a year, all to take grandiose shots and upload them on Instagram. With how famously celebrated and globally recognized it is today, the pink wall is truly only second to the Great Wall Of China in terms of being photographed, as Paul Smith claimed.

But while the iconic “pink wall” may as well be the center of attraction, Paul Smith’s own Flagship store, which sells suits for men and houses a collection of photography and sculpture for dreamers and art lovers alike, lies beyond it.

“I actually thought it was a makeup brand. Boy was I wrong,” exclaimed the clueless young adult from China who was so familiar with the “pink wall” yet had no idea what the store stood for. But can you blame her? Most people just come for the aesthetics and leave as soon as they take their picture. Would they be surprised if they discovered that it’s one of more than at least three hundred retail store locations representing Paul Smith’s menswear label since his first store in 1970?

It’s known that the brand hasn’t exactly embraced nor done much to have reached this height of popularity, other than a few comments you’d find on various social media platforms. But one thing’s for sure, they have always refused to comment further.

While the brand wouldn’t have predicted that its iconic “pink wall” would’ve blown up on social media a decade ago, Paul Smith already had dreams of this building becoming a social media phenomenon.

“From all sides, Paul always wanted a building that would be remembered like the famous Eiffel Tower,”- Richard, Paul Smith’s assistant manager.

Paul Smith’s assistant manager added, “He is an intense Mexican architect, Luis Barragan’s admirer, and the color for the pink wall comes as an inspiration from Rosa Mexicano, Barragan’s signature pink.”

The Famous Rosa Mexicano is splashed across Mexico City and at the museum, which once was the former residence of Luis Barragan. Still, the thing about beauty is, it is without imperfections! No photographs are allowed inside the museum.

Even the man Luis Barragan himself was known to be color blind, and his lover/assistant chose this shade of pink, making the color even more special. It’s been said that the shade was specifically chosen to bring light to the surface, which was an old visual trick that lit up buildings that relied on skylights and windows for light.

The inspiration wasn’t taken for granted since Smith’s work was up to his icon’s class; picture takers can easily create the perfect depth they aspire on their photographs, moving forth and back.

“Our iconic pink wall has the perfect vibrant background and is placed perfectly facing the sun and light’s direction, making them hit faces while capturing moments.” Richard adds. “The brand’s color pink, pink ladies, is also trademarked meaning it cannot be ordered from any paint stores without a code which only I have”

The Birth of Instagram shortly came after five years into Paul Smith’s move to Melrose Avenue, and by then, the pink wall had garnered all the attention since picture takers glowed spectacularly on their posts.

“The pink wall was meant for great heights and basically reached it overnight,” Richard explains. “It’s a gift and a curse that most of us in retail never get to experience, not that we hate it, but the cons outweigh the pros.”

The man Smith basically spends, give or take, $60,000 a year to maintain and preserve the iconic pink wall. It’s been said that they have to repaint it every three months, and since the wall needs cleaning and hosing it down is not an option, their janitor, named Patrick, cleans it by hand.

With all the money spent each year and the attention it attracts, anybody in their right mind would think that the brand worships the wall and is used as the greatest marketing tool ever, and yet it couldn’t be further from the truth.

While the pink wall may be getting all the attention, the store is practically empty. But it’s not shocking since picture takers are generally teens and younger adults who can’t afford luxury clothing. Most of the shoppers are fancy car owners who walk straight into the store and back without giving any clout to the iconic wall bringing a whole new level of a gift and a curse.

“I’m that person the janitor calls at any time of the day with literally any issues, so if there’s an act of vandalism and such, I’m the first on sight,” says Richard. “Since the multiple graffiti incident and other issues that needed fixing, we’ve started taking measures to stop it from happening again.”

A street artist who went by the name Thrasher had graffitied the wall multiple times, and the last incident took place at 2 am in the morning on the 12th of September 2018. “Go Fuck Your Selfie,” was the words sprayed all across the wall.

The meaning behind the graffiti that Thrasher so violently sprayed was to empower and tell young women that they didn’t need any approval from social media or society. The idea, in a nutshell, was, “You’re all beautiful, don’t let no individual tell you otherwise.”

“Paul received an apology by Thrasher’s manager, and they even offered to pay for all the damage they’ve caused,” Richard says. “Although Smith refused and said that he wouldn’t be taking anything from them except their promise that they wouldn’t do it again, he followed it up with criticism.”

“No man should be telling a woman what is acceptable.” Richard added as he gave a quick laugh.

To prevent any such incidents, the brand established a couple of rules to protect the iconic pink wall and hired security personnel to enforce these rules. Some of the rules the wall strictly enforces are individuals are not allowed any props, costumes, or professional cameras and prohibits any feet from touching the wall.

There’s a sign put up that lists all rules, and with it, it has the Instagram handle of the brand, their preferred hashtag, and geotag. “We need to live by rules if we want good things to stay good,” Richard adds.

“The popularity and success the famous pink wall has gained throughout the years are monumental, and to leave without a picture leaning against the wall would disappoint culture.” With a rough estimation, Richard states that the visitors in the majority, approximately 70 percent are from across the pond.

Given the number of international visitors, it would be a shame to just stick with expensive clothing; even though some tourists, who appreciate Paul’s work, are delighted to purchase goods, most visitors don’t. So to cater to all types of tourists, the store decided to sell various souvenirs and other merchandise and dish out free postcards and pins.

Even the hospitality shown at the store knows no bounds. “In good faith, the brand’s staff provides water to people taking pictures at the Instagram-famous pink wall if they come inside and certainly allows each one of them to use their restrooms.”- Yelp comments.

With people from all over the globe visiting this iconic pink wall, the traffic the street attracts is truly glorious, and all the other stores surrounding the wall have claimed that they reap the benefits as well.

“Been working at the Carrera Cafe for years now, and one thing I can positively say is that having the pink wall near your business is frankly a blessing in disguise,” says a barista.

But the attention couldn’t be more well directed since the picture-takers visiting the monument, pink wall, have free Wi-Fi, bathrooms, and a place to charge phones at the cafe. It’s almost like it’s heaven for models and influencers blooming on various social media platforms.

While there have been myriads of offers for Paul Smith to advertise various brands on their wall, they have been adamant on turning each one down.