They spoke with USA Today and here is a snippet. The full story is worth a read.
“We are just barely making it,” Maerina said.
Maerina is one of a growing number of contract workers in Silicon Valley who work inside high-tech companies but are not on the payroll at Facebook or Google. Instead, they are employed by outside contractors.
For the most part, they earn low wages and benefits. They have little in the way of job security or protections. Some don’t earn sick or vacation leave.
Of all the contract workers in high-tech, bus drivers are the most visible. MORE
“Union jobs are better bumper stickers will be issued.”
I hope the appropriate union (Transport Workers, Teamsters) is formulating and mounting an organizing campaign here.
Look for the contracted companies to sack the drivers featured in the video and quoted in the article.
Ah, the wonders of the “sharing economy.” These altruistic tech uber men (not too many women there) have no problem externalizing their costs onto exploited Filipino bus drivers or onto the general public by stealing public bus stops, or I suppose more accurately, renting them for pennies on the dollar.
I’m sure it’s a hard job, but as long as they are paid competitivey and get similar work conditions to other private bus drivers, I don’t think there is a link between driving tech workers vs anyone else. Should tech companies pay more for basic services because they are tech companies? Should pg&e charge tech firms more for utlilites than what an art gallery pays? Maybe El Farolito can up charge tech workers a couple of bucks per buritto too! I think this article is leading, and it’s implications of unfairness are sneaky.
Just as I expected, someone defending shitty working conditions by a multi-billion-dollar company that says, Don’t be evil.
Can you confirm that the working conditions and/or wages these drivers receive is worse than any other private bus drivers in the bay area?
I didn’t think so. So what ru bitching about!