Originally Posted by
cyrano138
It weird how much different 'Pedal' and 'Tribe' are, and how different they make the messenger industry seem. I don't know any real messengers, so I don't know which is more accurate, but tribe makes messengers and messenger companies seem more humanitarian. Pedal depicts an industry that exploits riders, chews them up and leaves them. Pedal is about NYC, though. Maybe Canadians are just nicer?
I have to say, the tribe show was pretty lame. It was like watching a movie adaptation of these peoples' facebook profiles.
The messenger industry is probably the most exploitative industry in America, besides operations that hire illegal immigrants.
Imagine riding your bike 9 hours a day, in traffic, in a blizzard, literally brushing with death on a daily basis, and your reward is
No health/dental insurance
Sometimes less than minimum wage
No vacation days
No sick days
No lunch break
No real-world job experience
No respect from police, citizens, or security guards
And then add on top of that
Supplying your own tools (your bike/bag/lock) and having to constantly repair/ upgrade them on your own dime
Paying the company to rent your radio
Not having taxes taken out of your check, meaning you owe a ton at the end of the year
Exploitative, yes. The companies use you and then when you get hurt or can't take it anymore, BYE BYE and some other schmuck steps up. There's literally an inexhuastable supply of messengers somehow... they keep coming out of the woodwork