Data taken from leaked internal documents has suggested that some Uber drivers in the US are making less than their states minimum wage. According to a report, Detroit drivers make just $8.10 an hour—40 cents less than the states minimum wage.
The data for Detroit, Houston and Denver reported by Buzzfeed News lists Uber pay scale and driver history files, and estimates hourly wages while taking into account expenses such as insurance, vehicle maintenance and fuel costs.
Despite these initial calculations, a Washington Post report lowered the meagre earnings figures further. As Uber drivers are technically independent contractors and not direct employees of the online taxi service, the drivers also pay out twice the amount of standard tax for usual workers.
After factoring this into its calculations—as well as the average hourly mileage costs for travelling to a pick-up spot without a passenger—Detroits drivers were estimated to earn $6.60 an hour, with Houston and Denver following at $8.43 and $11.21 respectively.
Washington Post told an anonymous Uber representative regarding the initial report, who said, “It would be wrong, or at least very challenging, to calculate expenses with such a diverse clientele.”
Washington Post also spoke to Lawrence Mishel, the president of the Economic Policy Institute, a DC-based think tank. Mishel stated, “Uber would like to play it both ways. It claims that its the future of work, while it also emphasizes that most of the drivers work less than 10 or 12 hours a week. They want to be the wave of the future, but they also want to picture themselves and their drivers earning money for sure.”
來自優(yōu)步公司流入網(wǎng)絡(luò)的內(nèi)部文件的數(shù)據(jù)表明,美國國內(nèi)一些優(yōu)步司機(jī)的收入比其所在州的最低工資標(biāo)準(zhǔn)還要低。據(jù)一份報告顯示,底特律地區(qū)優(yōu)步司機(jī)每小時僅能掙8.10美元——比該州的最低工資還少了40美分。
Buzzfeed News網(wǎng)站披露的底特律、休斯敦和丹佛地區(qū)優(yōu)步司機(jī)的薪水總額和行駛歷史記錄,減去車險、保養(yǎng)維修費(fèi)和油費(fèi)等相關(guān)費(fèi)用,估算出了上述地區(qū)司機(jī)的時薪。
除初步估算之外,《華盛頓郵報》的算法則令司機(jī)的收入數(shù)據(jù)進(jìn)一步降低。嚴(yán)格來說,由于優(yōu)步司機(jī)是獨(dú)立運(yùn)營商,并且不是優(yōu)步公司的直屬員工,因此司機(jī)們繳納的稅額是普通員工標(biāo)準(zhǔn)稅額的兩倍。
在減去稅額之后——同時扣掉司機(jī)空車去接乘客途中的平均每小時里程花費(fèi)——底特律的司機(jī)的時薪估算為6.60美元,休斯敦和丹佛的司機(jī)的時薪則分別為8.43美元和11.21美元。
《華盛頓郵報》把之前的報道告訴了優(yōu)步公司的一位匿名代表,該代表表示:“計算多種多樣的乘客的花費(fèi),這樣的計算方式是有問題的,或者至少是令人深思的?!?/p>
《華盛頓郵報》還采訪了位于華盛頓特區(qū)的智囊團(tuán)——經(jīng)濟(jì)政策研究所主任勞倫斯·米舍爾。米舍爾表示:“優(yōu)步希望向外界展示自己在兩方面的優(yōu)勢。優(yōu)步聲稱這樣的工作方式才是未來的工作方式,同時還強(qiáng)調(diào)大多數(shù)的優(yōu)步司機(jī)每周的工作時間還不到10小時或12小時。優(yōu)步想成為未來的潮流,但同樣想令世人相信公司和旗下的司機(jī)確實(shí)在掙錢。”
時代英語·高二2017年1期