A caravan of LA-area rideshare drivers with Mobile Workers Alliance descended on Uber’s Greenlight Hub in Central LA on Wednesday, November 3, and demanded that the tech giant grant gig workers across the world fair pay and basic worker rights and protections. The demonstration, held on the anniversary of Proposition 22’s passage, was part of a series of protests held by workers in 7 countries in response to the attempt by gig companies like Uber to push Prop 22-style legislation around the world.

Prop 22, which a California court recently ruled unconstitutional, denies app-based rideshare and delivery drivers the rights and protections afforded to California employees, including a minimum wage, paid sick leave, overtime pay, unemployment insurance, access to workers’ compensation, and the right to join together in a union. In 2020, tech giants like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash spent more than $220 million on a misleading ad campaign pushing the California ballot initiative — and the companies have since tried to spread similar laws in the U.S. and to other countries.

On Wednesday, the LA-area gig workers drove to Uber’s Greenlight Hub on Beverly Boulevard after convening in MacArthur Park. There, drivers rallied and spoke out about the false promises of tech giants’ Prop 22 campaign.

Drivers also called on the companies to drop their legal appeal of the court ruling declaring Prop 22 unconstitutional and to properly classify drivers as employees and not “independent contractors.”

On November 3, gig worker actions were also held in Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, and Spain. And, as part of California protests Wednesday, gig drivers with We Drive Progress and Gig Workers Rising rallied at DoorDash’s headquarters in San Francisco.

“The gig economy is a global economy,” said Neide Tameirão, who has worked for gig companies like Uber and Lyft for many years, at the LA rally. “Companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash are using the predatory business model they developed to exploit workers here and in other countries. In order to defeat these companies, our fight must also be global.”

CA Gig Economy Workers Blow Whistle on Broken Prop 22 Healthcare Promises in Virtual Press Conference; New Survey Results Showing Massive Ineligibility and Lack of Access

86% of Drivers Surveyed Likely to be Deemed Ineligible for Promised Prop 22 Health Stipend; Drivers Report Barriers, Mass Confusion Over Process and Inadequate Explanation from Gig Companies

 CALIFORNIA – On April 29, rideshare and delivery drivers held a press conference exposing the broken promises of Prop 22, using survey data collected from more than 500 California gig workers in a virtual press conference. You can view a recording of the event here.

“When I heard about the healthcare stipend that the gig companies are offering to drivers as part of Prop 22, I was excited. Last year, the gig companies advertised Proposition 22 would give drivers great new benefits. Some voters supported Prop 22 because they thought drivers would be given healthcare. I don’t trust that gig companies care about drivers, but I thought healthcare benefits were a step in the right direction,” said Jorge Orisontes, an Uber and Lyft driver from Sacramento who drives mostly in the Bay Area. 

 The new study is the first in-depth analysis of how gig companies’ self-interested interpretation of Prop 22 aims to exclude drivers from the promised health stipend, a key benefit that was heavily publicized in Uber and Lyft’s record-breaking $220 million “Yes on 22” campaign push last year.

 Platforms have created barriers to accessing the healthcare stipend that are not mandated by Prop 22, leaving tens of thousands of uninsured or working-poor drivers without the promised healthcare stipend that Californians voted for last November.

 “Clearly, app drivers are lacking information about how to receive the healthcare stipend offered by gig companies as part of Prop 22. They report not having or receiving the information they need in order to know whether they qualify for the stipend or, if they do qualify, how to receive it,” said Ben Tulchin, Founder and President of Tulchin Research, a national polling firm based in San Francisco. “The vast majority of drivers fall outside of the very restrictive healthcare insurance requirements needed to qualify for the stipend. Nearly a third of these workers report being uninsured altogether, so there are a lot of app-based drivers, based on our survey, who are driving around without health insurance. We think that’s a major, major problem and concern. The companies promised that they would address this problem and clearly they’re coming up short.”

 Drivers also report mass confusion regarding the healthcare benefit, with 66% reporting they had not been given enough information from their employers about how to even apply for the stipend, and 60% reporting they have not been given adequate information about which drivers are eligible.

 The failures of the Prop 22 healthcare stipend are yet another example of the way the gig economy passes costs on to their workers and the public coffers while siphoning up private revenue.

“I’m the person that Californians thought they were helping when they voted yes on Prop 22. I’m a working mom trying to provide for my family” said Neide Tameirão, an Uber and Lyft driver based in Irvine. “According to Uber, I’m too poor to be eligible for a health insurance stipend. I worked all of the engaged hours required for the stipend, but because I’m on Medi-Cal, I’m not eligible to receive it.”

 Drivers are calling on gig companies to honor the promises of the Prop 22 campaign and automatically disburse health insurance stipends to all drivers who met the minimum requirements for engaged time working.

Survey Results Memo

 

Inmediatamente después de la audiencia de hoy, en la que un juez rechazó la solicitud de las empresas de aplicaciones de extender el plazo de una orden judicial que les obliga a seguir la ley y clasificar a sus trabajadores como empleados, Uber y Lyft están intensificando los crueles ataques contra sus conductores. Esto se produce en medio de una pandemia y un desempleo masivo; ahora usan tácticas de miedo para presionar a sus conductores para que ayuden a aprobar la Proposición 22, una medida electoral que las compañías redactaron y pagaron y que les daría una exención especial para negarles a sus conductores salarios legales, brindar atención médica, tiempo de enfermedad pagado, equipo de seguridad y pagar el seguro de desempleo .

Hoy, la campaña Sí a la Proposición 22 repitió la amenaza del CEO de Uber, Dara Khosroshahi, de que el gigante de las aplicaciones cerrará las operaciones de California en un movimiento para presionar a sus conductores para que ayuden a aprobar una medida electoral escrita por Uber, Lyft y DoorDash que despojaría a los conductores de beneficios críticos y protecciones que todos los demás empleadores respetuosos de la ley en California deben proporcionar.

“La amenaza de Uber y Lyft de cerrar la tienda, dejando a decenas de miles de conductores sin trabajo mientras los directores ejecutivos de empresas de aplicaciones cobran cheques de pago de millones de dólares, es absolutamente reprobable”, dijo Mike Robinson, conductor de Lyft y miembro de Mobile Workers Alliance. “La gran mayoría de conductores como yo trabajamos más de 30 horas a la semana, por lo que las empresas de aplicaciones nos están dejando sin trabajo además de negarnos el acceso al desempleo en medio de una crisis económica y de salud pública. Este noviembre, tomaremos una postura al votar NO a la Proposición 22 para evitar que estas empresas sigan poniendo sus ganancias por encima de nuestros medios de vida ”.

“Las empresas de aplicaciones han pasado años negándonos los beneficios básicos y las protecciones que necesitamos para mantenernos saludables durante una pandemia y ganar un salario digno. Ahora quieren quitarnos nuestros trabajos por completo ”, dijo Saori Okawa, un conductor de Uber de San Francisco y miembro de We Drive Progress. “Somos trabajadores esenciales, arriesgamos nuestras vidas todos los días para poder pagar nuestras facturas y poner comida en la mesa para nuestras familias, mientras que Uber y Lyft recolectan todas las ganancias. ¡Votar NO a la Proposición 22 obligará a las empresas de aplicaciones a dejar de jugar con nuestras vidas y comenzar a seguir la ley! ”

Amenazar con cerrar las operaciones comerciales y quitarles los puestos de trabajo a los conductores es una vieja táctica que Uber y Lyft siempre han utilizado para intentar salirse con la suya.   La campaña NO a la Prop 22 publicó hoy una lista de otras jurisdicciones donde Uber ha amenazado con irse, pero nunca lo hizo: 

  • Nueva York – En 2015, Uber amenazó con dejar la ciudad de Nueva York por una disputa con el Ayuntamiento,pero nunca se fue.
  • Austin, TX – En 2016, Uber y Lyft amenazaron con abandonar el mercado de Austin, TX si los votantes locales no aprobaban una medida que puso en la boleta electoral para aflojar las restricciones de verificación de antecedentes. Las empresas regresaron solo seis meses después.
  • Chicago, IL – En 2016, Uber amenazó con abandonar el mercado de Chicago para evitar tener que cumplir con las regulaciones de licencias de la ciudad, y Lyft se unió.  Ninguna empresa se fue.  
  • Aeropuerto Phoenix SkyHarbor – En febrero de este año, Uber y Lyft amenazaron con dejar de recoger en el aeropuerto SkyHarbor de Phoenix si se permitía que se mantuviera un aumento en la tarifa de recogida del aeropuerto. La tarifa entró en vigor el 1 de mayo de este año. A partir de hoy, Ningunoempresa ha salido del mercado.

No on Prop 22, sponsored by Labor Organizations, Committee major funding from:

Transport Workers Union of America

California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

SEIU California State Council

On the heels of today’s hearing where a judge rejected app companies’ request to extend the deadline on an injunction requiring them to follow the law and classify their workers as employees, Uber and Lyft are intensifying cruel attacks on their drivers. This comes in the middle of a pandemic and mass unemployment; now using scare tactics to push their drivers to help pass Prop 22, a ballot measure the companies wrote and paid for that would give them a special exemption to deny their drivers legal wages, provide healthcare, paid sick time, safety equipment, and pay unemployment insurance.

Today the Yes on Prop 22 campaign repeated Uber CEO Dara Khosroshahi’s threat that the app giant will shut down California operations in a move to pressure their drivers to help pass a ballot measure written by Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash that would strip drivers of critical benefits and protections that every other law-abiding employer in California is required to provide.

“Uber and Lyft’s threat to close up shop, putting put tens of thousands of drivers out of work while app-company CEOs cash million-dollar paychecks, is absolutely reprehensible,” said Mike Robinson, Lyft driver and member of Mobile Workers Alliance. “The vast majority of drivers like me work more than 30 hours a week, so the app companies are leaving us without a job on top of denying us access to unemployment in the middle of an economic and public health crisis. This November, we’re taking a stand by voting NO on Prop 22 to stop these companies from continuing to put their profits over our livelihoods.”

“App companies have spent years denying us the basic benefits and protections we need to stay healthy during a pandemic and earn a living wage. Now, they want to take our jobs away completely,” said Saori Okawa, an Uber driver from San Francisco and We Drive Progress member. “We are essential workers, putting our lives on the line every single day to be able to pay our bills and put food on the table for our families – while Uber and Lyft collect all the profits. Voting NO on Prop 22 will force app companies to stop playing games with our lives, and start following the law!”

Threatening to shut down business operations and tear jobs away from drivers is an old ploy Uber and Lyft have always used to try to get their way. The NO on Prop 22 campaign released a list today of other jurisdictions where Uber has threatened to leave, but never did:

  • New York – In 2015, Uber threatened to leave New York City over a dispute with the City Council, but never left.

  • Austin, TX – In 2016, Uber and Lyft threatened to leave the Austin, TX market if local voters failed to approve a measure it put on the ballot to loosen background check restrictions. The companies returned just six months later.

  • Chicago, IL – In 2016, Uber threatened to abandon the Chicago market to avoid having to comply with the city’s licensing regulations, and Lyft joined in. Neither company ever left.

  • Phoenix SkyHarbor Airport – In February this year, Uber and Lyft threatened to stop picking up at Phoenix’s SkyHarbor airport if an increased airport pickup fee was allowed to stand. The fee went into effect on May 1 of this year. As of today, neither company has left the market.

 

No on Prop 22, sponsored by Labor Organizations, Committee major funding from:

Transport Workers Union of America

California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

SEIU California State Council

Uber driver and Mobile Workers Alliance leader José Ulises Cabrera issued the following statement in response to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s threats to shut down in California if the company is forced to comply with state law classifying drivers as employees:

“Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s threats to shut down in California rather than comply with state law guaranteeing drivers basic workplace protections shows just how far gig economy companies will go to cheat workers in order to line their executives’ pockets. Khosrowshahi’s statements are just the latest in a long line of anti-worker rhetoric and fear mongering on the part of gig companies, tactics that have been ratcheted up in the face of mounting pressure by the State of California, drivers, and consumers to correctly classify drivers as employees and pay their fair share into state safety net programs like Unemployment Insurance.

“Drivers will not be intimidated by Khosrowshahi’s scare tactics. Our movement of app-based rideshare and delivery drivers across Southern California is growing stronger every day, and we remain committed to defeating Uber, Lyft, and Doordash’s disastrous Proposition 22 in November.”

CALIFORNIA — Today, in response to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s announcement of a lawsuit against Uber and Lyft in partnership with the city attorneys of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco to hold the companies accountable for violating California law, ignoring workplace rules and refusing to pay payroll taxes or contribute to the state unemployment fund, Hector Castellanos, who drives for Uber, and Jerome Gage, who drives for Lyft, issued the following statements.

Castellanos is a member of We Drive Progress, a movement of app-based workers in Northern California. Gage is a member of the Mobile Workers Alliance, a group of Southern California drivers.

“Uber and Lyft are avoiding all responsibility and shifting their costs to drivers and taxpayers. They are taking advantage of a pandemic, just like they’ve been taking advantage of drivers and taxpayers for years. When I was in an accident driving for Lyft, I needed shoulder surgery and couldn’t work for eight months. Without employee benefits like workers’ compensation, my daughter had to drop out of school to help us keep our home. Now that I’m quarantined because of COVID-19, it’s been the same struggle for my family all over again,” said Hector Castellanos, a Bay Area driver and leader with We Drive Progress. “Even before this pandemic, I was barely making enough to get by because Uber and Lyft did everything they could to avoid paying a livable wage or providing access to health insurance. By holding Uber and Lyft accountable, Attorney General Becerra is taking action to protect drivers and taxpayers, who are on the hook to support struggling drivers because these companies refuse to follow the law like other businesses.”

“Uber and Lyft are not above the law, but for years they’ve acted as if they are. During the coronavirus pandemic, their greed and disregard for Californians, drivers and customers has reached an all time high. I am terrified of getting sick as passengers cough and sneeze in my car constantly. Uber and Lyft have abandoned drivers and passengers by failing to provide personal protective equipment,” said Jerome Gage, a Los Angeles Lyft driver and leader with Mobile Workers Alliance. “I am unable to stay home. If I don’t drive, I have no income. I have no choice. If I don’t risk my health, I won’t have money to eat and pay my bills.”

SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom clarified during his daily press briefing that gig workers can receive both unemployment insurance and ensure proper classification pursuant to AB5, despite misleading statements by rideshare companies.

Armen Oganesyan, a  leader with Mobile Workers Alliance from Los Angeles who drives for Uber and Lyft, and Jose Galindo, a We Drive Progress leader from San Jose who drives for Uber and Lyft, issued the following statement in response:

“Thank you Governor Newsom for clarifying that when we file for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, it will not upend the protections and benefits won for workers under state law AB5.  Lyft and Uber’s misclassification has left us without the most basic workplace protections we have a right to under California law, including access to unemployment insurance, sick pay, and safety equipment. Meanwhile, these same companies are asking the federal government for bail outs while refusing to pay into unemployment insurance all in the same breath. They should immediately drop their deceitful ballot measure and instead use those millions to do right by us instead of putting the burden on taxpayers. We are united 20,000 drivers strong across California and will continue our fight to hold Uber and Lyft accountable to pay their fair share, comply with AB5, and drop their disingenuous ballot initiative. Free rides for Uber and Lyft on the backs of hard working California taxpayers must end here.”

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As of today, the mayor of Los Angeles has ordered that all essential workers (including rideshare and delivery drivers) wear protective face coverings while working and that employers must provide workers with facemasks.

To protect our safety, it is imperative that Uber, Lyft, Postmates and the rest abide by this order and get masks to drivers and that the City of Los Angeles enforce this order and hold these companies accountable.

We sent the following letter to LA City Attorney Mike Feuer this afternoon.

April 10, 2020

Mr. Michael Feuer
City Attorney
City of Los Angeles
James K. Hahn City Hall East, Suite 800 Los Angeles, CA 90012

Re: Enforcement of Los Angeles Worker Protection Order for App-Based Rideshare and Delivery Drivers

City Attorney Feuer,

On behalf of the over 16,000 rideshare and delivery drivers in SEIU 721’s Mobile Workers Alliance, we write today to urge your enforcement of Mayor Garcetti’s Worker Protection Order, specifically with regard to app-based gig employers such as Uber, UberEats, Lyft, Door- Dash, Postmates, and others.

As you are aware, these companies rely on a predatory business model that unfairly misclassi- fies employees as independent contractors in order to skirt their basic responsibilities as employers, and cheat us out of the rights and protections afforded to all workers under local, state, and federal law.

Even after the passage of Assembly Bill 5, which intends to properly classify rideshare, delivery, and other gig economy workers as employees, app-based gig companies have refused to comply with state law, even going so far as to dump $110 million into a deceptive ballot measure aimed at overturning AB 5 in November.

It is with this in mind that we write to share our grave concerns over the health and safety of gig workers during the COVID-19 crisis. With the Safer at Home Order in place, Los Angeles residents are relying on app-based food delivery more than ever before. At the same time, rideshare drivers with Uber and Lyft are transporting essential workers to and from their jobs, including frontline healthcare workers, grocery workers, and those working for city and county governments. To say that gig workers are uniquely vulnerable to infection is an under- statement.

For weeks, even in the midst of the worst public health crisis we’ve seen in decades, our employers have done nothing to help drivers, forcing us to supply our own personal protec- tive equipment, cleaning supplies, and sanitizer.

In the hours since the Mayor’s Worker Protection Order went into effect, gig economy employ- ers have already signaled that they will not comply fully with the emergency order, with Uber communicating to drivers that masks are available by request, and that the company cannot guarantee masks for every driver.

Lyft, on the other hand, has set up a drive-through station where drivers can pick up a very limited amount of sanitizing materials, including one disposable mask and small bottles of disinfectant.

These half-measures on the part of the companies do not meet the guidelines outlined in the Worker Protection Order, and show just how little these Silicon Valley giants care about the safety of their drivers, passengers, and the public at large.

We ask that you enforce the Worker Protection Order for gig economy workers in the City of Los Angeles:

1. Ensure that app-based gig employers provide cloth face coverings to all employees at no cost, as required by the order, and prosecute those companies who fail to do so to the fullest extent of the law.

2. Ensure that app-based gig employers provide access to clean, sanitary restrooms, and provide all necessary sanitizing agents, as required by the order, and prosecute those companies who fail to do so to the fullest extent of the law.

We also ask you to confirm that the City will take no legal action against gig economy workers who are unable to comply with the Worker Protection Order due to their employer’s failure to provide them with the necessary protective and sanitizing equipment, as required by the order.

We are encouraged by the bold steps taken by the City of Los Angeles to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and believe that with swift action, we can ensure that some of the city’s biggest employers will do their part to help prevent the spread of disease.

Thank you,

Mike Robinson, Lyft driver, Mobile Workers Alliance
Armen Oganesyan, Uber and Lyft driver, Mobile Workers Alliance
Leonardo Diaz, Lyft driver, Mobile Workers Alliance
Linda Valdivia, Uber driver, Mobile Workers Alliance

CC:

Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
Gilbert Cedillo, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 1
Paul Krekorian, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 2
Bob Blumenfield, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 3
David E. Ryu, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 4
Paul Koretz, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 5
Nury Martinez, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 6
Monica Rodriguez, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 7
Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 8
Curren D. Price, Jr., Los Angeles City Council Member, District 9
Herb J. Wesson, Jr., Los Angeles City Council Member, District 10
Mike Bonin, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 11
John Lee, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 12
Mitch O’Farrell, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 13
Jose Huizar, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 14
Joe Buscaino, Los Angeles City Council Member, District 15
Kathleen Kenealy, Chief Assistant City Attorney
Connie Chan, Deputy City Attorney