“When Uber deactivated me, I had been driving for them for 2 years. One day, I woke up and couldn’t log in to the app. Uber deactivated me because of a glitch in their system. In my case, the deactivation was Uber’s fault, but drivers get unfairly deactivated every day for all sorts of reasons. Uber kept me out of work for 3 weeks and I fell behind on my car payment. A car payment that I was making to Uber, because I had been leasing a car from them for 18 months. Once my account was reactivated, I worked 12-13 hours a day to catch up on my car payment. It didn’t matter. Uber repossessed my car - taking the thing that I rely on to make a living and something that I was leasing from them. Even though I’ve been reactivated, I live in constant fear that I could be deactivated again for some unknown reason. We shouldn't have to live like this.” -Eleisha R. Every day, Uber and Lyft drivers work under a constant fear of having their accounts deactivated. Deactivation is the equivalent of an immediate firing. Drivers are frequently deactivated with little to no warning, and they are often given no explanation of why they were deactivated, or how they can remedy the situation. The constant threat of termination, in addition to limited opportunity for recourse, means drivers are constantly in a state of fear. Drivers’ stability at work is entirely out of their hands. Instead, their future is decided by the whims of passengers and the companies. It is almost impossible for drivers to advocate for themselves once deactivated, or to fight for reactivation. If you aren't an Uber or Lyft driver, can you imagine working in these conditions? There are numerous things that trigger deactivations including car accidents, background checks, passenger complaints and driver personal safety concerns. Clear policies on why deactivations occur must be developed for each of these issues and more. Drivers need a voice at Uber and Lyft in shaping these policies to better protect both drivers and passengers alike. Drivers deserve a seat at the table. Gig Workers Rising has decided that it is time to take action against Uber and Lyft’s unfair deactivation practices and the devastating impacts they have on drivers. This petition will be delivered in person to Uber and Lyft by drivers. Join us by taking action and signing our petition.

We, as progressives, believe in workers rights. Yet all too often, non profit organizations, political campaigns, for profit companies, and political organizations post jobs that either are unpaid internships or that pay workers as independent contractors instead of employees -- which means the worker is responsible for 100% of the taxes on their compensation and 100% responsible for benefits they would have otherwise received as an employee. Research from Pay Our Interns show that unpaid internships effectively block the point of entry for college students who cannot afford to work for free to gain experience and that people of color and low-income families are significantly underrepresented. And, once the Democratic National Committee started paying their interns, the share of people of color in the program leapt from 18% to 42%. And from my personal experience, I can tell you that in my twenties, I was paid for a number of years as an independent contractor instead of an employee. When I was hired for these positions, I figured I would hired as I had been previously - as an employee. And wow was I shocked when tax day came and I owed 30% of my earnings plus penalties for not filing quarterly estimated taxes. I didn't know taxes were not being withheld -- and I actually had to set up an installment agreement with the IRS. And of course, I didn't have health insurance during those years or any type of benefits. These practices are unfair to workers across the United States. We can't stop employers from being greedy (oh how we've tried!) -- but we can get these progressive job boards to stop posting unpaid internships and to only post jobs which are paid as employees (W2, not 1099), which will cut of the pipeline of applicants to employers who aren't willing to pay their fair share. By cutting off their supply of applicants, I believe we can force non profit organizations and for profit companies to do the right thing, pay their interns a living wage, and to pay their fair share of taxes and benefits.

As the cost of living continues to rise, one in four St. Paul workers currently makes less than $15/hr. The food-service industry is one of the top three employers of low wage workers in the metro area and many of them are tipped workers. We are the people that serve your food, mix your drinks, make your coffee, and clear your tables; we are the backbone of the restaurant industry and we deserve a living wage. Right now, the restaurant industry employs six out of ten of the lowest wage jobs in our state, meanwhile the restaurant and food-service industry continues to grow. We want to keep our industry strong and support the workers that make St. Paul a desirable place to work and dine. We deserve the full minimum wage and our tips! Fair wages not only prevent poverty and wage theft, they also help to protect workers from sexual harassment and discrimination: when workers are more dependent on tips, we're more vulnerable to the biases and, at times, predatory behaviors of customers. On a daily basis, workers in our industry are forced to weigh our dignity against our take-home pay as we face indecent behavior from customers and coworkers. A tip penalty makes this dynamic worse by forcing workers to depend more on tips and less on guaranteed wages for our income. The Minnesota Restaurant Association claims that raising the minimum wage would hurt our industry. That's not true! The restaurant industry is the fastest growing industry in the country and has grown amidst raises to the state-wide minimum wage. They say that workers would lose tips, but tipping is norm in the highest-wage food-service industries in the country. They want to take workers tips to subsidize the cost of running their businesses. We say no! We know that tipped workers, that ALL workers, need a $15 Minimum wage with #1FairWage. Tell the City Council: No carve-outs, No tip-penalty!

I am a former employee of Papa John's Pizza. I was encouraged, then agreed to be promoted, as AGM last year. I realized through our personal payroll program that I was not getting paid my promised wage. This was brought to my manager’s attention, as well the Area Supervisor’s, eliciting the same response that they will “take care of it.” A few weeks of patiently waiting for a correction and following the chain of command, there was none and I eventually had to call the payroll department myself for retroactive pay. Earlier this year leading up to this from an extremely poor, hostile work environment not only from coworkers, but managers, I was sexually assaulted by my superior while working as an AGM. After being refused from my store manager to Human Resources, I was never offered any paperwork or advice to file my claim for this incident. Following the proper procedure(s) of bringing this to my superior's attention multiple times, I was fired in retaliation and informally transferred to another store location. As a young female, this is a completely different generation that we are bringing into the workforce, speaking up about these issues. For the millions too afraid to truly express themselves, I would like to bring awareness towards this issue to prevent this from becoming a precedent. This is about the laws that we can’t ignore and especially stay silent about. This is not just about me. This is other people. The Department of Human Resources needs to be called out. There are thousands of employees getting hurt from the blind eye of this department not doing anything about these types of claims. They don’t care. Something needs to be done. I am seeking stories from any current/former employees who have experienced discrimination, been fired for retaliation, or anything similar: please come forward, comment below sharing your story, help bring action and create awareness for better employee policy change(s) at Papa John’s Pizza.

Many employees do not like that fact that our travel system is based on FCFS vs. Seniority. In making the changes stated above it reduces the pool of people competing for a seat and also serves as somewhat of a compromise. As the system stands now it is a discouragement to those employees who are not married and have no dependants. This change will enable these employees a chance to travel with their pass user who may also be a underaged grandchild, for example. Employees work for the benefit and therefore should have preference over non employees to use said benefits.

Ending worker exploitation in America is the right thing to do. Join us on Twitter Rideshare America @ridesharepay

Can't afford to keep driving full time. Gas prices are driving us out of the rideshare industry. We need a rate increase! Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/m-i-k-e/

Being competitive in keeping trained associates and rewarding dedication. Role model work and service needs to be fairly compensated. Photo by CafeCredit (https://www.cafecredit.com) under Creative Commons 2.0

This promotes: 1. A sustainable wage for independent contractors working for ride-share companies. 2. Fewer C20 emissions in each city due to an extreme and unnecessary number of drivers in cities worldwide. 3. The integrity and respect of the drivers who do the majority of work for billion dollar companies. Overall, we all love our Rideshare companies. I, myself, have been both a driver and a passenger of Uber in particular. However, the work of these companies is not done, and this petition could help Rideshare companies prove that they not only care about their passengers well being, but the drivers well being as well, who help make their companies just what it is--awesome.

Security contractors, bus drivers, cafeteria and maintenance workers do their part to make Silicon Valley the most prosperous region in the world, yet they struggle every day to feed their families, live near their jobs, pay their rent, and take care of themselves and their children when they are sick. Although the region's top tech firms made a record $103 billion in profits in 2013, one in three Silicon Valley households do not make enough money to meet their most basic needs. Between 2009 and 2015, the average rent for an apartment jumped by 32.2%. Yet over that same time, adjusted median incomes for renters have actually declined 2.8%(Source: https://siliconvalleyrising.org/). This has forced families to cram together in small apartments, move far away from their jobs, make unhealthy trade-offs between rent and other essentials like food and prescriptions, or sleep on the streets. But things are changing. Last year over 3,000 security officers working for security contractors of many Silicon Valley tech companies including Facebook, Google, Oracle, Adobe and Cisco voted to form a union to gain a voice on the job, better pay and better working conditions. Today many are still in contract negotiations—it’s a critical time to voice our support as tech employees who are their colleagues. We have a lot learn from their efforts about how we can also come together for more democratic workplaces. Sign here to show your support for security officers fighting for fair wages in this lucrative industry, and help spread their story across Silicon Valley to ensure that all tech workers have a voice in our workplaces.

Health care is a human right. Accessible, affordable health care should be available for all, not just the rich. Yet Cummins, Inc. – the $20 billion global diesel engine company – is forcing its employees into health insurance plans that have deductibles as high as $6,000/year for family coverage and can leave families with tens of thousands of dollars in annual out-of-pocket costs. This is immoral. Our health insurance does anything but keep us healthy. In fact, many of us go without our prescription medicine, or don’t go to the doctor, or don’t get new glasses, because we fear the thought of potential medical bills. If we do seek medical attention, we can be overwhelmed with debt so large we are forced to work overtime, or negotiate monthly payments, or pay with credit cards that accrue interest, or battle with bill collectors. Even those who are healthy struggle, as young families are consumed with pregnancy and childbirth costs. Many Cummins retirees say they can’t afford to be part of Cummins’ retiree insurance despite devoting their lives to making Cummins successful. Cummins is a Fortune 500 company that reported $999 million in net profit in 2017. In 2016, the company built a primary care “LiveWell Center” at its headquarters in Columbus, Indiana. It is a state-of-the art facility that provides free and reduced-cost healthcare services such as primary care doctors, free lab work, and free x-rays. It’s convenient for Cummins executives and workers in the surrounding areas, but not for the thousands of employees who live in other states. Cummins should ensure that its employees can access needed medical care without wiping out their paychecks and their savings. No one should risk their health or their life because they’re afraid of the cost of care. Do the right thing and provide us with health insurance that covers the health care we need year-round, not insurance that doesn’t kick in until we spend thousands out of our own pockets each year.

My name is Mikey and I work at Toys R Us in Eugene, Oregon. This week, I found out from news reports that Toys R Us will shutdown and liquidate its entire U.S. operation. This news is devastating to say the least. My coworkers and I have no idea what’s going on or when our store will close – all of the updates we’re getting are from the news and corporate is keeping us in the dark. I love my job so much. I enjoy working at Toys R Us and helping kids find toys they love in the store. But I’ve heard that Toys R Us owners are Wall Street companies that don’t care about running a toy business – they just want a quick profit. Thousands of families counting on these jobs will be impacted by Toys R Us’ going out of business. We will lose our jobs. Meanwhile, the CEO of Toys R Us, David Brandon, makes a base salary of $3.7 million. Just days before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last September, 5 of the top Toys 'R' Us executives received $8.2 million in retention bonuses. David Brandon received $2.8 million and asked for court approval of up to another $12 million in incentive bonuses. This corporate greed is hurting me and my family. And it’s unacceptable. We’re losing our jobs and our livelihoods while these executives gave themselves huge payoffs. We call on Toys R Us and Babies R Us to give all laid off employees severance pay. Thanks for standing with us.