Uber and Lyft are the two largest rideshare companies -- making millions of dollars off the drivers who work for them. Drivers spend countless hours behind the wheel, earning crumbs in comparison, and not knowing if the next day’s earnings will be guaranteed. Uber and Lyft’s deactivation policies put drivers under the constant threat of deactivation. For drivers, deactivation is the equivalent of an immediate firing.
Drivers deserve a voice in determining the policies that impact them at work.
Gig Workers Rising is an organization by and for drivers and other app workers. We are taking action against Uber and Lyft’s unfair deactivation policies.
These are our demands:
1. Gig Workers Rising demand a meeting with Uber and Lyft to discuss the following demands.
2. Develop clear communication with the driver before and after deactivation. Before a deactivation is triggered, Uber and Lyft should immediately communicate with the driver. This allows for the driver to share what happened as well as receive information on the deactivation process. For drivers who are deactivated there should be a transparent appeals process that includes an appeals panel led by drivers.
3. The majority of supervision and evaluation of drivers comes directly from passengers. There is currently no process in place to account for discrimination and bias on behalf of the passengers and how it influences passenger ratings and in turn drivers’ access to their accounts. Uber and Lyft must directly address how discrimination and bias plays out daily in the lives and work of their drivers.
4. Immediate deactivation should only take place in extreme and clearly defined circumstances.
“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.
Gig Workers Rising will deliver the petition signatures in person.
Drivers delivered this petition to Lyft's corporate headquarters in San Francisco on November 14, 2018. You can check out video of the event -- and drivers' discussion with a Lyft representative -- in this video on Gig Workers Rising's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GigWorkersRising/videos/744161425917192/
5,000 signatures reached
On October 12th, as we were attempting to enter Uber's HQ to deliver our petition, a security supervisor grabbed one of the drivers and threw him to the ground. https://www.facebook.com/GigWorkersRising/videos/273334386722477/
1,000 signatures reached
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