Ducks in a Row: Do People Count?
by Miki Saxon
I’ve written a lot about the 1099 economy and its poster boy Uber; none of it particularly flattering.
Why?
Because the way the drivers are treated they are not “independent contractors” as described by the Feds.
They are revolting in the best way — by becoming the competition.
That was back at the end of February and in tech three weeks can be a lifetime.
The new news is that Talmon Marco founder of Viber six years ago and sold for $900 million two years later, is the guy behind Juno, Uber’s newest competitor — but a competitor that values it’s people.
“What Uber left out in the process of building their company is that they completely and totally forgot about the people who do the work, the drivers. Imagine a company where all the employees hate management; that is not a good place to be.”
And there lies the problem for most of the 1099 crowd.
Unlike most other 1099 businesses, full-time Juno drivers will be employees, not contractors, receive stock quarterly and have the potential to build “as much equity as the founders.” according to Marco.
Remember the robber barons of the late 19th-arly 20th Century?
A robber baron is a wealthy, powerful businessman who employs practices including exerting control over natural resources, influencing high levels of government, paying subsistence wages, squashing competition by acquiring competitors, creating monopolies and raising prices [emphasis mine], and schemes to sell stock at inflated prices to unsuspecting investors.
Even the inflated stock seems familiar when you consider that Uber’s unicorn valuation is based on funds raised, not revenue, and it’s losing hundreds of millions each year.
Robber barons indeed.
Image credit: Wikipedia
