Just last month, Seattle's disastrous attempt to enact a minimum wage for app-based food delivery drivers It was on the news. As a result, coffee now costs $26, city residents have deleted delivery apps, and drivers have seen their incomes cut in half. Now, the Minneapolis City Council has decided to: join the fray In the multi-pronged progressive war against the gig economy, the outcome could be even worse this time around.
In March, the Minneapolis City Council enacted the following ordinance: ordinance This establishes a minimum wage for rideshare drivers in the city. This is done through per-minute and per-mile calculations. set $1.40 per mile, $0.51 per minute. He also sets a price floor of $5 if the trip is short or otherwise below that level.
Council Claim The ordinance enacted an ordinance to ensure rideshare drivers in the city are paid an amount equal to the city's minimum wage of $15.57 an hour. Even if you set aside the traditional economic arguments against the minimum wage, see California's argument. Recent Fast Food Minimum Wage Laws As Exhibit A shows, the Council's logic is itself corrupt. The day after the City Council first passed the ordinance, the state Department of Labor and Industries released the following report: report The results show that a lower rate of $0.89 per mile and $0.49 per minute is sufficient to bring drivers' wages on par with the minimum wage of $15.57.
As a result, the ordinance was immediately issued. exercised the right of veto By the liberal mayor of Minneapolis — the second time in two years the mayor has vetoed such a bill. measurement A veto from the council can only be overridden by the council after one week. The City Council did not have access to the state report during the first vote, but had the right to vote on it for more than a year. week Please review before voting to override the veto.Incredibly, even one city council member was suggested After seeing the state's report, she says she was somehow persuaded to change her vote on the minimum wage from „no“ to „yes“ between her initial vote and the invalid vote.
In response to the City Council's override, rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft announced They plan to leave the Minneapolis market completely unless the City Council changes course. Rideshare companies were originally scheduled to leave the city on May 1st, when the ordinance goes into effect, but the council agreed at the last minute to push the ordinance's effective date to July 1st, forcing rideshare companies to wait. are doing. – and viewing mode.
If the City Council refuses to repeal the move by July, the impact on Seattle residents could be even worse than the soaring food prices Seattleites experienced in response to the aforementioned minimum wage increase for delivery drivers.Rideshare companies will continue to support Given the minimum compensation levels proposed in the state study, any higher rates than the city's would be cost-prohibitive.
There was panic among many lawmakers in the state capital, with some calling for the introduction of a bill. parliament To pre-empt the Minneapolis ordinance.Democratic Gov. Tim Walz previously vetoed the statewide minimum wage. invoice For rideshare drivers, said He said he is „deeply concerned“ about the potential loss of ride-sharing services in the Twin Cities.
This concern is well-founded, as the withdrawal of rideshares would disproportionately impact the city's elderly and disabled residents, who often rely on these services to survive. . Therefore, supporters of the Minnesota chapter National Federation of the Blind, Minneapolis Aging Advisory Counciland the Minneapolis Disability Advisory Committee All have expressed opposition to the ordinance.
There is also the possibility that ride sharing will be lost. concern on the potential impact on the city's drunk driving rates.The evidence is linked The availability of ride-sharing to reduce the number of drunk-driving and alcohol-related car accidents highlights just how high the risks are.
Moreover, if the City Council action goes unchecked, harmful minimum wage increases will inevitably spread to other parts of the Twin Cities gig economy.Minneapolis ordinance is limited to rideshare drivers At this pointBut if the past is prologue, then food delivery drivers are next.
Seattle passes first minimum wage rules for rideshares 2020 driver, just follow this up with the lowest prices for food delivery this year. New York City followed a similar trajectory in his two stages. confine lowest price of ride share driver before proceeding food delivery Drivers a few years later. Given the large number of rideshare drivers, double For food delivery drivers, who often use the same apps, the incremental pressure to expand the minimum wage for deliveries could be substantial.
Also, keep an eye out for what the Minnesota Legislature is considering. invoice That would make it more difficult to be classified as an independent contractor in the state, adding another ominous storm cloud to the gig work horizon.
Despite new lessons learned from the Seattle food delivery debacle, Minneapolis City Council members seem oblivious to the reality on the ground. Ironically, it was none other than Karl Marx who famously declared that history repeats itself „first as a tragedy, second as a farce.“ The city council has Several Those who are openly socialists should pay more attention to their intellectual ancestry.