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Can Filling a Shift Be Just as Easy as Ordering an Uber?

Uber Works has expanded into its third American city: Dallas. At the end of 2019, 2.9 million Americans work in seasonal or temporary positions, and the temporary work app hopes to appeal to that workforce.

(TNS) — When Uber expanded its rideshare service across the country roughly a decade ago, it quickly became apparent to early users just how slow the taxi cab industry had been to adapt new technologies.

When would your cab arrive? What if it didn’t come at all? Did the cab driver have a decent driving record? Does the company take credit cards?

Uber’s platform introduced reliability, consistency and a seamlessness to the transportation industry — and it’s now looking to do the same for temporary staffing.

The Uber Works app will connect Dallas-Fort Worth workers with nearby businesses that need to fill shifts and features an expedited onboarding process as well as rapid payment for the worker.

Uber Works CEO Andrey Liscovich said he hopes that businesses will see that "pushing a button and getting a ride can turn into pushing a button and getting a shift filled reliably.”

Uber’s rideshare business faced considerable criticism about treatment of drivers as it matured over the years. And Liscovich acknowledges the complexities of temporary staffing pale in comparison to hailing a cab via smartphone app.

The many industries that rely on temporary work require differing skill sets, which is why Uber Works will primarily focus on “general labor opportunities” and intro-level jobs that don’t require up-front training, the company said.

But workers won’t necessarily be employed by Uber.

The tech company is working with established staffing agencies, including TrueBlue, to handle the actual employment, payments and benefits for Uber Works users. Washington-based TrueBlue connected more than 300,000 people with work in 2019, according to its latest financial filing.

“We know that this is a hard problem to solve,” Liscovich said. “Even if it takes time, we are committed to seeing through all these nuances and challenges.”

Like other Uber apps, the Uber Works platform is two-pronged. It features a worker-facing app as well as one dedicated to the businesses providing the shifts. Workers are required to upload W-2 forms and other employment materials to the app and undergo a background check, a process that takes 24 to 48 hours, according to the company.

From there, workers can browse shifts at companies around them that will list hours, directions to the business and a list of tasks and expectations. The app will even remind you not to be late for your shift.

At launch, the platform will include “dozens” of businesses posting available shifts, said Liscovich. The pay varies from job to job, but the company said workers can expect average hourly wages of between $12 and $16 that will be paid within 48 hours of completing the work.

Like Uber’s ride-hailing platform, those hourly pay rates will be subject to “surge pricing” if a shift is particularly hard to fill.

Dallas-Fort Worth is the third city to get the service. In Chicago, where Uber Works launched in October, hundreds of workers have completed thousands of shifts using the platform, according to Liscovich.

D-FW Workers

The temporary workforce in the U.S., or workers who pick up jobs on a seasonal or irregular basis, was 2.9 million workers strong by the end of 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In Dallas, Uber is specifically recruiting businesses in event work, hospitality and light industrial jobs like warehouses, which make up the greatest share of temporary worker employment in the country, according to the American Staffing Association.

“You’re seeing ... more and more people in the workforce that don’t have one job," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who believes Uber Works launching in D-FW could be a boon for business amidst a historically tight labor market. "They have a job and a side hustle and they’re looking to pick up some more time if they can. This just makes that matchup that much easier.”

The industries Uber Works plans to focus on at launch account for roughly 30% of the employment opportunities in D-FW, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Warehouse jobs and other types of light industrial work are big business in Dallas-Fort Worth, a key shipping hub for North America. The size of D-FW’s industrial sector was also a driving factor in the San Francisco-based tech company’s decision to launch Uber Freight — an app connecting truck drivers to loads of goods in need of transport — in Texas not long ago.

Uber is hoping that the companies using its Freight app will see benefit in using Uber Works as well.

The Cost Of Expansion

With the launch of Uber Works, Dallas-Fort Worth is increasingly becoming an area of focus for the $4 billion tech company’s newest business initiatives since announcing that it was setting up shop in Deep Ellum in August.

Uber has referred to the Dallas hub, which currently employs roughly 300 workers, as “the spine to support all of our global offices and operations across the world.”

The company has been battling the high costs of expanding its Uber Eats platform over the last year and expects to take on a loss of between $1.25 billion and $1.45 billion by the end of 2020.

The Uber Works service is free for workers, but they must follow the rules. If they’re miss shifts or show up late too many times, their account can be deactivated. Uber will charge businesses that sign up for Uber Works consistent with the work hours provided through the platform, according to the company.

“We are not trying to grow the costs,” Liscovich said. “We’re being very responsible with pricing. Our mandate is to make sure that we’re growing sustainably.”

©2020 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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