As humans, it’s a natural thing for us to go through different dynamics over time. These changing dynamics help us big time in regards to becoming more complete individuals. Now, when you are able to scale up in such a significant way, it naturally brings some level of power, and history shows that humans haven’t always been judicious with how they use the said power. Notably enough, this error on our part doesn’t just talk to ineffective handling, but it also revolves largely around misplaced intentions. Time and time again, humans have displayed a clear tendency of putting their interests over everyone else’s, even if it means leaving a hugely detrimental impact on others. As you would guess, such a dynamic can get dangerous really quick, so the world, in order to protect the wider horizons, delivered a groundbreaking concept in dedicated regulation. By imposing neatly-defined regulations throughout the spectrum, we were able to achieve a level playing-field, and therefore, create a much healthier overall structure. Now, while we focus on the positives, we must acknowledge the challenges this concept faced along the way. With creations like technology doing everything to increase volatility, the regulatory bodies soon found themselves in a very tricky position. Their hesitation, in turn, allowed big tech companies to climb up the food chain and establish an outright unbalanced environment. Nevertheless, recent events suggest a long-awaited shift in the tide, and a new legislation goes the distance to back that up.
Washington State House has officially passed a bill, which is focused on breaking the dogfight between ride hailing companies and their drivers. According to certain reports, the bill locks in on range of benefits for the riders, while still classifying them as independent contractors. These benefits will likely include elements such as paid sick leave, a minimum pay rate, and a committed resource center for the drivers who are looking to raise an appeal against their deactivation. On the other hand, the new bill also does everything to ease the ride-hailing companies’ concerns, as individual cities can no longer regulate their core operations. The compromise between the two parties arrives after a lengthy string of lawsuits. To get a genuine insight into its significance, you only have to go back and look at companies like Uber and Lyft spending over $200 million in California for promoting Proposition 22, a ballot to nullify the law that asked for drivers to be treated as full-time employees.
Even though it feels like a breakthrough, the Drivers Union isn’t entirely onboard with the idea. In fact, as per the relevant reports, the union supported the bill mainly because companies threatened to pursue a ballot initiative, if a compromise wasn’t reached in Washington.
They’re also holding the gun at our heads with the possibility of an initiative. They spent $200 million on California. It comes down to the reality that we don’t have the money to buy TV ads. They do. They will misinform the public with a barrage of TV ads, so we will lose an initiative. We could lose everything,” Don Creery, a Drivers’ Union board member.