Uber Drivers Have No Right to Strike

Uber Drivers Have No Right to Strike
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Some Uber drivers in New York City went on strike this week, after the company reduced rates on its basic service, UberX, in New York City by 15 percent. The protest was planned by a group of drivers known as the United Drivers Network over fare cuts and overall deteriorating conditions.

Uber was pleased with the results of the new rates saying drivers spent 39 percent less time without a fare and saw a 20 percent increase in hourly earnings compared with two weekends earlier.

Many drivers disagree. In fact, one was quoted as saying, "We can't understand how we're going to make more money if the fares are less and we have to work twice as hard to be making the same money."

The Solution
Uber drivers have no right to strike and should be thankful for their jobs. The solution is getting passed this typical union bullying mentality. If the drivers don't agree with the compensation they receive, don't drive for Uber. If you're not happy, go find another job. Compensation is based on supply and demand, and Uber is no more obligated to over pay for labor than Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson or Apple.

Unfortunately, we could see more of this. In Seattle, the city council voted unanimously in December to extend collective bargaining powers to drivers for services like Uber and Lyft. It became the first city to unionize Uber drivers.

The unionized mentality has to stop. It's another archaic American institution that served a purpose in a bygone era and should be buried with the dead. Workers have become spoiled with inflated wages, tenure, and guaranteed work based on every factor outside of job performance and results.

A few years ago, I was in Madison, Wisconsin, at the time teachers went on strike. I talked to more than a dozen teachers. All of them told me the same thing: they said they had the right to collective bargaining and to their job. When I asked them where job performance fit into the equation, I barely got a reply. They looked at me as though they didn't understand the question. And that's one of the biggest problems unions create: the idea that they have a right to a job, like it's an entitlement awarded at birth.

If you want to earn more money, bullying your employer with a mob isn't the answer. Production is. If you want to earn more money, provide more service. End of story.

Unfortunately, some drivers want to cause even more trouble. The Uber Driver's Network Facebook page posted this message yesterday:

Fellow Drivers,
We have some B I G PLANS mapped out for the next few days. Please be ready to take more MASSIVE action that will shake Uber to its core foundation and everyone who supports them in their oppression against drivers. The fight has just begun: if what we did this past Monday was massive (#1 Trend on Facebook and still #3 World Wide News coverage), then W A I T and see what we have planned next [If I was Uber, I'd really rethink my strategies and clean house if necessary of those advising with destroying the lives of drivers and their families]. What's next you ask? something that will S T R I K E at the core.

Uber drivers: stop being stupid, grow up emotionally and if you want to make more money, go out and make more money. This is America, a free-market economy, the land of opportunity and you can earn as much as you want. Become an entrepreneur, start your own car service or other company and go conquer the American dream. Going on strike in front of your company's headquarters and inconveniencing customers is not the answer.

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