Edit: Management should be far more concerned that Uber is allegedly an environment that systematically enables sexual harassment and discrimination against women.
I have one friend who worked at Uber and had years of experience working at another tech company beforehand. Uber basically refused to promote her, even going to far as to hire people significantly junior to her into those senior positions. In one case one of the people who was hired blatantly lied on their resume about their past experience, got caught out for it, and was still hired above her.
Even outside of the bay area Uber has taken many reputation hits for their stupid behavior. The whole incident where they were planning on digging up dirt on a reporter to ruin her character shows a huge lack of ethics at the top of the company. The "god mode" application and research into "one night stands" shows they have no respect for privacy.
I should note: my peer group isn't particularly tech oriented.
Something, it's worth noting, no less true of Lyft. And I think it's a little weird to be demanding owners of infrastructure lock out workers "in support of a strike". That whole reaction was absurd.
This article gives me substantially more pause.
This was in my opinion a very appropriate way to respect the strike without forcing drivers to not make money unless they chose to do so themselves.
The biggest concern is that this puts Uber in the position of determining what is and isn't "legitimately a strike".
Lyft operating as normal: "Fuck this strike, making me pay tons of money bc of surge pricing"
Uber operating without surge: "OMG Uber my savior!!!!! / (can't actually find a cab bc of lack of availability) Whatever, not their fault, it's the stupid strike after all"
It was a calculated cynical ploy like literally everything else Uber does. I have no patience with them, particularly in a thread discussing sexual harassment within. Feel free to spin it as "a very appropriate way to respect the strike" or whatever.
Lyft did not negate surge pricing that day, AFAIK.
But that's actually immaterial: surge was turned off a half hour after the strike ended.
The perception is closely tied to what people hear from drivers, constant negative media coverage, and being recognized as the epitome of a douchey tech company. Those three things combine to make using Uber distinctly un-cool in the eyes of many users. (Note that folks will use it anyway, but not talk about it.)
The services are more or less identical, but I always feel like I'm in the minority when I tell friends I'm calling a lyft.