What a lot of people in this thread dont seem to understand is that the article is not making the case for Uber/Lyft drivers to be classified as employees (traditionally cab drivers have almost always been self-employed contractors), its simply reporting that under the current arrangements, Uber/Lyft drivers clearly _are_ employees. Legal scholars frequently cite the ability to set a price as a key criterion for being classed as a contractor. Maybe all Uber needs to do is to introduce some kind of "bidding" system in order to maintain the status quo. (They probabably wont though because Ubers entire value proposition to its shareholders rests on its ability to drive down the pay and conditions of its drivers)