Statement On Uber’s “Benefits Fee” Bait and Switch

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Gig Workers Rising Statement in Response to Uber’s “Benefits Fee” Bait and Switch

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Here’s a statement from Gig Workers Rising in response to Uber’s announcement of a “benefits fee” to pass on cost of Prop. 22 onto riders:

A Response To Uber's Announcement Of A Benefits Fee

“Today’s announcement by Uber is a corporate bait and switch. Uber and other app corporations said time and again during their Prop. 22 campaign that if the measure failed to go through, riders could expect higher rates. Now that Prop. 22 has passed, Uber is announcing that riders will have to shoulder increased costs after all so that the company can continue to skirt its responsibilities to workers.

These benefits are too meager to meet the needs of workers in the middle of a pandemic and recession. They won’t guarantee adequate health insurance, sick leave, or personal protective equipment, and they’ll force gig workers to pay nearly all their operating expenses. What’s more, Prop. 22 legalizes wage theft by only paying workers for a fraction of the time they spend working.

It is shameless that these billion dollar corporations have spent millions to deny workers real benefits, and are now offsetting the costs of their nearly nonexistent benefits to riders.

Earlier today, we announced the launch of an app, Workers First, to help drivers understand Prop. 22 and begin collecting examples of the many inadequacies of Prop. 22. Gig workers can sign up today to receive a download link to our new app, which will provide workers with information about their rights at work and allow California gig workers to submit data about their pay, healthcare, and other benefits. We are collecting this information because we intend to show that the benefits offered by Prop. 22 are completely inadequate.” — Lauren Casey, organizer with Gig Workers Rising