Gig Workers MUST Be Included In Vaccine Priority List

Gig workers ARE essential workers. Gig workers are the people who drive passengers for companies like Uber and who deliver food for companies like Doordash and Instacart. They have provided many of us with services we’ve relied on in order to safely shelter in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is for this exact reason that many states list gig workers as “essential workers”. As the COVID-19 vaccine is distributed, it is imperative that the Center for Disease Control include gig workers in their Phase 1b recommendation for vaccine distribution for “Frontline essential workers”.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, gig corporations were quick to petition that their workers be classified as essential, while refusing to provide them with personal protective equipment or healthcare. The people who drive for ride hailing companies and deliver our food and groceries safely to our homes, have been forced to spend the last ten months exposing themselves to a deadly virus in order to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. Despite this, many state governors have failed to include gig workers in vaccine roll out efforts. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo excluded rideshare drivers and food delivery workers from the next phase of the state’s vaccine rollout. This is unacceptable and dangerous for both workers and consumers alike. The CDC must properly prioritize gig workers as essential workers in vaccine roll out plans across the country.

Many gig workers have had no choice but to continue working or return to work during a deadly pandemic because the platform corporations they work for have unilaterally abandoned them. These corporations have refused to pay a dime into state unemployment funds and have actively advocated that their workers be excluded from state unemployment benefits, all while denying them access to crucial benefits like health insurance, paid sick leave and proper protective equipment. The majority of gig workers in the United States are Black or Brown, representing the communities hardest hit by the pandemic while receiving the least amount of protection and support. It is crucial that the CDC’s vaccine plan includes gig workers as essential workers.

We demand that the Center for Disease Control include gig workers in their Phase 1b recommendations for vaccine distribution for “Frontline essential workers”.