Thursday, June 11, 2015

Now Uber loses a big one in class action lawsuit

Uber loses bid to stop US drivers' lawsuit http://gu.com/p/49kqa?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger
Every Uber driver in the United States has a reason to read this blog to learn about the class action lawsuit against Uber that could mean thousands of dollars in remuneration to each driver.
If you believe that you signed your right to sue
 Uber away, the Federal Court ruled yesterday that the  arbitration clause in your contract with Uber is unconscionable and therefore not valid or enforceable. This is a great victory for Uber drivers and for every worker in the transportation industry.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Uber may owe you thousands

There is a class action lawsuit against Uber that could mean thousands of dollars in your pocket if you are an Uber driver. You need to read this, and take a few simple steps that cost you nothing. I am not an Uber driver, I am a semi retired taxi driver who does not own a medallion. My interest in this is simple and not all so altruistic. I hate Uber and what it stands for, which is cheap labor, deception, the power of money and force (fascism?) and complete disregard for the public good.

Please take the time to look this website over. In particular the following article could very well mean serious money in your pocket.


UBER DRIVERS

Read here about an important lawsuit brought by Uber drivers to recover the tips they should have received and reimbursement for expenses

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Uber drivers have filed a class action lawsuit claiming they have been misclassified as independent contractors and are entitled to be reimbursed for their expenses that Uber should have to pay, like for gas and vehicle maintenance. The lawsuit also challenges Uber’s practice of telling passengers that the gratuity is included and not to tip the drivers, even though you are not getting a tip!!
We won a major victory on March 11, 2015, when the judge overseeing the case, Judge Edward M. Chen, of the federal district court in San Francisco, denied Uber’s motion for summary judgment!  In his decision, the judge agreed with many of our arguments about why Uber drivers may be properly classified as employees. Click here to read the court’s decision.  Under the court’s order, the case will go to trial before a jury.  See the news stories below for reports on the ruling.
The next step in the case will now be for the court to decide class certification, which would define the scope of the case and which drivers can be covered under it. The court has set a hearing on class certification for August 6, 2015.  We expect that Uber will argue that most drivers are bound by an arbitration clause, which prevents them from benefiting from a class action case in court.  We will be challenging the arbitration clause, but the court may enforce it.  In the event that it does, we plan to file individual arbitration cases for drivers who may be bound by the arbitration clause. So if you did not opt out of Uber's arbitration clause within 30 days of accepting the agreement (and most drivers did not), please CONTACT US so that we can add you to our list of drivers to pursue individual arbitration if we need to do that, so that you can be covered by the result we obtain.  If you accepted an Uber contract within the last 30 days, you can still opt out of the arbitration clause by emailingoptout@uber.com and saying you want to opt out of the arbitration clause.  IN OTHER WORDS, EVEN IF WE WIN THE CASE, YOU MAY NOT RECOVER ANYTHING FROM IT UNLESS YOU CONTACT US TO SIGN UP FOR ARBITRATION.  SO PLEASE CONTACT US OR EMAIL ELIZABETH LOPEZ, AT elopez@llrlaw.com, TO BE ADDED TO OUR ARBITRATION LIST.  HUNDREDS OF DRIVERS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY HAVE ALREADY JOINED OUR LIST.
We filed this case on behalf of Uber drivers across the country.  In an early ruling, the court agreed with us that the case could proceed on behalf of drivers nationwide.  In a later ruling, however, the judge changed his mind andlimited the case to drivers in California
We think this decision was incorrect and we plan to appeal it. But meanwhile, if you have driven for Uber anywhere in the United States, and did not opt out of the arbitration clause within 30 days of accepting Uber’s licensing agreement, PLEASE CONTACT US to obtain a form to return to us so that we can pursue an individual arbitration claim for you.
If you have any questions, feel free to call or email Shannon Liss-Riordan, the lead attorney representing the Uber drivers, or her paralegal assistant, Elizabeth Lopez, at (617) 994-5800, at elopez@llrlaw.com, orsliss@llrlaw.com.
Attorney Liss-Riordan and her firm have represented thousands of tipped employees, and employees who have been misclassified as independent contractors, all around the country.  See her firm’s website for more information:www.llrlaw.com.

Click here to read a copy of the lawsuit complaint.
Click here to read the court’s summary judgment order of March 11, 2015.
Click here to read a transcript of the summary judgment hearing held on January 30, 2015. 


uber taxi & limo drivers

In order to sign up for us to represent you in an individual arbitration in order to collect any wages that may be owed to you based on Uber’s misclassification of drivers (in the event the court excludes drivers from the class action who did not opt out of the arbitration clause within 30 days), PLEASE CONTACT US to obtain a form to return to us.  To stay informed, and be added to our list of drivers interested in the case, please e-mail your name and contact information to:
Shannon Liss-Riordan
Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C.
729 Boylston Street, Suite 2000
Boston, MA 02116

Tel: (617) 994-5800
Fax: (617) 994-5801
sliss@llrlaw.com
www.llrlaw.com
Adelaide Pagano, Associate Attorney
apagano@llrlaw.com
Elizabeth Lopez, Paralegal
elopez@llrlaw.com
Uber cannot legally retaliate against you for cooperating with the lawsuit.
News Articles:
What strippers can teach Uber
Medium | April, 2015
The hidden costs of being an Uber driver
Washington Post | February, 2015
Judges skeptical of Uber-Lyft claims in labor cases
The Wall Street Journal | February, 2015
The inconvenient truth about ride-sharing
Boston Globe | December, 2014
New lawsuit claims Uber exploits drivers
Boston Globe | June, 2014
Judge orders Uber to change ADR clause
The Recorder | May, 2014
Uber drivers' suit over tips clears hurdle
San Francisco Chronicle | December, 2013
Cabbies duped by Uber given second chance
Courthouse News Service | December, 2013
Uber Sued Again Over Tip-Skimming Claims, Case Could Go National
conomy | August, 20XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It looks like Uber has created an opportunity for taxi drivers in New York City.


When I left NYC in November for three months the fleet I drive for had so many drivers a driver could come to shape up and wait two hours only to be told that there was no car for him and to come back tomorrow.

In order to avoid that unpleasantness I opted for another - a commitment to work six nights a week, which allowed me to come to the garage at five p.m. knowing that I will work regardless of how many other drivers had been there since three. At my age this was becoming quite trying.

When I returned to my garage in February the situation had turned because several of the drivers took a payoff from Uber and left. Now I work a more humane pace, as I.had planned to do, only expecting to be sent home one or two nights a week. Well, that's not the case now. My garage has a good location, otherwise I'd switch. Hmmm maybe I will switch to get those bonuses then come "home"....




Attention Uber NYC drivers who feel like they've had enough abuse from Uber.

You probably can escape the fate of an Ubered driver  and become a taxi driving business man or woman. I'm not going to tell you that driving yellow in New York City is the perfect life, but it probably beats driving UberX by far and if you want it driving yellow taxi now opens a door to really having your own small business.

This is a real print out of a real yellow taxi driver's income for a long, hard, rewarding day of work. I figured that this driver made over $240 clear after lease, fees, and customary tipping back.. I estimated his expenses on the high side.

If you own your Uber car you can probably convert it to a yellow taxi. You also would have the option of having one or two drivers working under you and earning money for you while you rest or enjoy a day off.

Yellow taxis will soon have e hail apps installed. I oppose the apps on safety grounds and there are court cases now ongoing that might result in the apps being banned or changed. Yellow taxi drivers and owners feel pressured to use e hail apps. The driver apps will not use smart phones but will be installed in already existing equipment that is used for communication purposes.

If you want to know more about switching from Uber to Yellow you can contact Queens Medallion Leasing at 21-03 44th Avenue Long Island City right next to the upper roadway exit on 21st Street during normal business hours or other taxi management company.

Reliability and Cost per mile: An #Uber driver who buys a car and really wants to be a business professional needs hard numbers, not hunches, rumors, guesses or wishful thinking.

If you cannot understand this you probably shouldn't be in business driving your own car. 

Someone might have convinced you that cost per mile doesn't matter. Here's a clue: Cost per mile is the name of the game. 

According to Consumer Reports the most economical car to buy is the Prius hybrid which has a five year cost per mile of 47¢. This is the bottom number crunching line.


Brian Cole is a pauper self styled Uber guru who sells a line of ignorant shit on YouTube. If you listen to bozos, chumps and hucksters you are lost.

Cole says he's driven for Uber and Lyft for eight weeks and he's made eight thousand dollars. Or maybe eight thousand eight hundred dollars. He drives an economical Prius and says he drives eighty to ninety hours per week. Let's crunch the most optimistic numbers to see how much Brian Cole really makes:


The raw gross income is $13.75 an hour. Let's say Brian Cole averages eight miles an hour. That's means that his real income is $13.75 - $3.76 or nine dollars and ninety -nine cents. Compare him to an hourly minimum wage employee in his home state of Ohio:
$8.10 per hour. The minimum wage employee gets time and a half for overtime, meaning $12.15 for the second forty hours, is $12.15 an hour. It adds up to $8,100 or $700 less than Brian says he makes. The minimum wage employee gets disability insurance and workers compensation insurance too. Also unemployment insurance. The minimum wage employee gets half his Social Security and Medicare paid for by his boss. Brian pays his in full. If he gets sick he doesn't pay his boss, but if Brian gets sick he still has to pay the car note and insurance. Brian Cole probably doesn't think he's a taxi driver but he is. He's in one of the most dangerous jobs there is. He has no workers compensation insurance or disability insurance.If Brian Cole isn't paying taxi rate insurance he may be found to be committing insurance fraud. That's why they have prisons in Ohio.  He thinks you ought to join him.