The Daily Valet. - 8/11/20, Tuesday

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August 11, 2020

Tuesday, August 11th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I’ll take my cocktails anyway I can get them these days ...

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today's edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Uber, Lyft Ordered to Classify Drivers As Employees

A big ruling for the gig economy

A California judge ruled that Uber and Lyft must classify their drivers as employees in a stunning preliminary injunction issued Monday afternoon, reports The Verge.

But the ruling is on hold until the companies have a chance to appeal. According to the Wall Street Journal, the ride sharing apps have argued that they are platforms that facilitate transactions between drivers and passengers, not transportation companies.

Both Uber and Lyft say drivers prefer the flexibility of working as freelancers, while labor unions and elected officials contend this deprives them of traditional benefits.

As independent contractors, Uber and Lyft drivers do not receive basic labor protections such as a minimum wage, overtime pay, paid sick days, medical and unemployment insurance, and compensation for accidents incurred on the job, reports Vice.

Both companies had asked the judge to postpone the litigation, citing among other reasons a proposed ballot initiative for November that would exempt them from the California law.

Meanwhile, the state’s labor commissioner has received nearly 5,000 wage theft claims from drivers, and has sued to recover all of the wages owed to drivers, as well as costs incurred from other legal violations and damages.

↦ Further Reading: Dara Khosrowshahi, the current CEO of Uber, wrote an op-ed for the New York Times suggesting that companies should be required to establish "benefits funds" for gig workers.

Chicago Police Shooting Reignites Unrest

Restricted access, bridges raised until to Tuesday morning after looting

Hundreds of people descended on downtown Chicago early Monday following a police shooting on the city's South Side, with vandals smashing the windows of dozens of businesses and making off with merchandise and cash machines, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Police Superintendent David Brown said the shooting prompted a social media post that urged people to form a car caravan and converge on the business and shopping district. They broke windows, looted both high-end and local stores while clashing with the police.

Over several hours, police made more than 100 arrests and 13 officers were injured, including one who was struck in the head with a bottle, Brown said. The chaotic and confusing scene prompted city officials to raise bridges over the Chicago River and close down the city last night at 8 p.m. (which was good considering they were hit with a massive derecho storm.)

According to the Associated Press, Mayor Lori Lightfoot corrected a false rumor—that police shot a 15-year-old boy—which is what ratcheted up the tensions so quickly. She also made it clear that she didn't want military troops brought in, despite a call for help from at least one Republican leader in the Illinois House.

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Are College Sports Ready to Return?

Reports say the Big Ten and Pac-12 are prepared to postpone the fall football season

President Trump on Monday joined a U.S. senator and a number of coaches calling to save the college football season from a pandemic-forced shutdown as supporters pushed the premise that the players are safer because of their sport, reports the Associated Press.

There was speculation over the weekend that the most powerful conferences in college sports—the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12—might call off their seasons and explore the possibility of spring football.

Now, the players are weighing in too. According to the Wall Street Journal, the captains of the Ohio State University football team released a statement Saturday saying that they wanted to play and trusted the health protocols laid out by the university. Early Monday, Clemson's star quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, tweeted, “I don't know about y'all, but we want to play.”

Lawrence, who's the front-runner to be the No. 1 selection in the next NFL draft—as well as Justin Fields of Ohio State and Najee Harris of Alabama—called for universal medical protocols and for players to be allowed to opt out of the season without surrendering a year of their eligibility to play college sports. They also said they wanted to use their “voices to establish open communication and trust between players and officials.” Will it result in some football? We'll see. Will it be safe? We'll see about that too.

↦ FYI: Five years ago this month, a push to unionize college football players ended in defeat.

Medieval Wine Windows Reopen

A product of the Plague is useful once again

According to Google Trends, the phrase “social distancing” was all but unheard of before March—but the tracking doesn't go back to the 1600s.

In Florence, the need for bars and restaurants to serve food and drinks in a socially distanced manner has seen a medieval architectural oddity revived, reports VinePair.

Wine windows, known locally as buchette del vino, are small hatches carved into the walls of over 150 buildings in Florence and Tuscany. First introduced in the 17th century, the windows were originally used by merchants to sell surplus goods, such as wine. When the Plague swept through Europe, the windows allowed stores to continue doing business while isolating from the public.

Today, they're being used to sell Aperol spritzes, coffee and even gelato.

↦ Dig Deeper: Insider has a roundup of the most interesting windows around Florence.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Group economics

How apple pie became an American icon

Cooling pillows

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