Rideshare and Delivery Drivers with Uber, Lyft, Postmates will hold a “Clean In” Protest at Uber Headquarters to Highlight the Lack of COVID-19 Safety and Sanitation Supplies from Gig Companies and Pay for Disinfecting Vehicles
Q4 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Protest draws attention to the plight of drivers who, while already struggling to make ends meet, must also spend their personal time and money cleaning and disinfecting their cars
(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) Dozens of Bay Area rideshare and delivery drivers for companies like Uber, Lyft, and Postmates are turning off their apps for two hours on Wednesday, February 17 to protest the inadequate response from their employers to the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers are also protesting the gig companies’ refusals to provide adequate PPE and cleaning supplies or pay drivers for the additional work of disinfecting their vehicles throughout the workday. The protest will include a socially-distanced speaking program and rally, where drivers will distribute masks and cleaning supplies and sanitize their vehicles to demonstrate the time and effort needed to keep themselves and customers safe.
WHO: California rideshare and delivery drivers
WHAT: Drivers to hold work stoppage and rally at Uber Headquarters
WHEN: Wednesday, February 17 at 11AM
WHERE: Uber Headquarters, 1455 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103
VISUALS: Socially distanced sanitation stations for vehicles, cars decorated with pro-worker signage and banners, chanting
“I wish these companies would provide me with more hand sanitizer, masks, and wipes to clean the carts and my vehicle. I’m forced to spend a lot of money on PPE and I worry about catching COVID-19. It’s really stressful—I’m always being timed when I’m driving for these companies and if I don’t get places quickly, I can be punished. It’s like the companies don’t care about making sure I have enough time to wash my hands, clean my car, and wipe down surfaces. All I want to do is provide quality services for customers while keeping myself and others safe. Why don’t gig companies care about the same things?” asked Lucas Chamberlain, an Instacart driver and member of We Drive Progress.
The Passage Of Proposition 22
Despite surging COVID-19 case numbers in California and worker safety ordinances put in place by the city and county of San Francisco mandating that employers provide their workers with basic PPE or reimburse them for PPE expenses, drivers report that little effort has been made by gig companies to comply with existing orders. This is largely due to the passage of last year’s Proposition 22, which legally classified app workers as independent contractors and stripped them of many rights and protections that employees are entitled to.
Additionally, rideshare and delivery drivers are not paid for the time spent between trips cleaning and disinfecting their vehicles, amounting to hours of unpaid work in any given month. Now, with new restrictions on the ability of local governments to protect drivers in the aftermath of Prop 22, drivers fear that conditions will only deteriorate.
“Eleven months into this pandemic and workers are still asking for the most basic life saving protections for themselves, their families and their communities. While gig corporations like DoorDash have seen profits surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have continued to flout common sense public health recommendations by leaving workers without quality protective equipment, sanitization supplies or payment for the additional labor workers take on to protect themselves and customers. Gig greed knows no bounds. It is time these corporations protected their workers, not just their profits.” said Cherri Murphy, social justice minister, Lyft driver and organizer with Gig Workers Rising.
“In the midst of this devastating pandemic, workers have gone above and beyond to protect themselves and our communities by purchasing protective equipment and cleaning supplies and spending their personal time sanitizing their cars to save lives. It is outrageous that while delivery app corporations continue to rake in profits, workers are forced to shoulder these burdens while struggling to make ends meet. That is why tomorrow I am introducing an ordinance that will require on-demand delivery service corporations to provide protective equipment to workers and compensate them for their work sanitizing their vehicles. Workers have been doing their part since the start of the pandemic, it’s time for on-demand delivery service corporations to do the same.” said San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney of District 6.
Workers will also be launching a petition on Wednesday in support of Supervisor Haney’s forthcoming legislation. The petition can be viewed at wedriveprogress.org/ppe.
Gig Workers Rising is a campaign supporting and educating app and platform workers who are organizing for better wages, working conditions, and respect. @GigWorkersRise
We Drive Progress is a movement of app-based workers behind the wheel of every rideshare trip across Northern California. We’re uniting to win our union and a better life for ourselves and our loved ones. @WeDriveProgress
