Thousands of Uber drivers in New York City went on a 24-hour strike after the company blocked pay raises they were set to receive this month. Despite raking in nearly $9 BILLION over the past year, the tech giant complained that slight pay raises would cost the company around $23 million a month, evidently too high a price for fair wages.
The strike began at 12:01 a.m. Monday and ended at midnight, according to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, the union that represents about 15,000 Uber, Lyft and taxi cab drivers. The union asked riders to boycott using the rideshare app until the strike ends. Drivers were also scheduled to protest in front of Uber's New York headquarters Monday afternoon.
This strike comes after New York City's Taxi & Limousine Commission approved pay raises for Uber drivers last month. Uber then sued the commission, arguing that enacting those raises would be too costly, a strange argument to make when you’re making billions of dollars a year. Mind you this is the first pay increase for drivers since 2012, a time that may seem recent, but was actually 10 years ago (casual reminder that you’re older than you think). Needless to say the cost of living in major cities has skyrocketed in the interim, necessitating an increase in pay. But similar to the recent railworkers strike, executives are unsurprisingly comfortable exploiting their workforce to continue lining their pockets with profit.
Side Items
NHS Strike in the UK: Nurses and ambulance staff are on strike for the second time in less than a week, in ongoing disputes over fair pay. The prime minister’s response? "I really urge the unions to consider the impact these strikes are having on people's lives and their health and to consider whether that's really appropriate." Imagine telling people that need more money, “Well now’s hardly the time innit?”
Musk Meltdown: The bozo who overpaid for Twitter made the mistake of asking users if he should step down as CEO, to which a majority responded that yes, indeed he should. Now the apartheid beneficiary is in his feelings, trying to find a way to invalidate the poll that he conducted. Before he does step down, if he ever does, I’d like to personally thank Mr. Muskrat for forever destroying the myth that billionaires are somehow inherently smarter, more hard working, or superior in any way to anyone else in the most publicly humiliating way imaginable
Final World Cup Thoughts (I promise)
The most controversial and overly-dramatic sporting event of my lifetime has finally come to a close, but only in the most controversial and overly-dramatic way imaginable. If you sat a group of Hollywood writers together, they probably wouldn’t be bold enough to write a script like this. It was imaginative, it was creative, it truly had something for everyone. Watching the match in a smoke-filled cafe in Alexandria, I was astounded at both the amount of hazy smoke that could fill a small room and at how captivating and absurd the match was, creating a core memory long before the final whistle was blown.
By now you’ve heard the story a hundred times; Messi, the aging legend featuring in what is likely his final World Cup, scores twice and leads Argentina to apparent victory, a legend riding into the sunset with his legacy unquestionably complete. But wait, what’s this?!? Mbappe, the rising star/protege, suddenly scores twice in one minute and adds another goal in extra time to send the match to penalties. I know I get conspiracy-minded quicker than most, but there’s simply no way that championship wasn’t scripted by powerful Qatari royals. I don’t know if the referee was bribed or if the coaches were tricked or if the stars themselves were hoodwinked, but the clear winner coming out of this tournament is the host nation.
Qatar managed to successfully dodge constant accusations of human rights violations by the world leaders of human rights violations, and the end result was a mostly-controversy-free tournament. Sure a few pride flags were disallowed and a few symbolic gestures of European moral superiority were on display, but for the most part, people just watched soccer and enjoyed it, because it’s the beautiful game.
Bear in mind that Messi and Mbappe, despite being adversaries in the championship, feature on the same club team, PSG. A club team that happens to be owned by…Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. The moment of glory, when Messi finally got his hands on the elusive trophy, has been discussed ad nauseam, as the emir of Qatar draped a bisht, a traditional light cloak, over the legend’s shoulders, presumably for the photo op, forever engraining Qatar in the minds of viewers. If one thing is for certain, this tournament was the most successful blueprint imaginable for how to sportswash. We’ll see what notes the US/Canada/Mexico can implement at the next World Cup, assuming the West’s imperial decline doesn’t come to a head in the next four years.