Between Uber and Lyft I have given 7,297 rides since 2017, with ratings of 4.97 and 5 stars.
In 2019, I was driving for Uber and Lyft in California and my car’s clutch went out. I was thrust into Lyft’s so-called Rental Rewards program and was forced to pay $1,000 a month to rent a car, just to stay on the hamster wheel that is rideshare work. It was then that I decided something must be done to improve the working conditions in the rideshare industry.
My husband, who is also a driver, and I lived in our tent or Airbnbs for the entire duration of the COVID pandemic shutdown of nearly 2 years. We were deemed ineligible for unemployment insurance. In April of 2020 my husband and I, along with hundreds of drivers in California protested and called for emergency relief. We believe that it was our activism that prevented millions of misclassified workers from slipping through the cracks. Unfortunately for us, it was too late and in August of that year wildfires caused the closure of all state campgrounds in California, and we were forced out of our home state. We moved to Oregon, where we are still fighting billionaire companies who have bankrupted so many drivers like ourselves. They continue to do this with no regard for the families they devastate and with profits as their priority.
In Oregon, I’m organizing with Portland Drivers United to win fair pay, benefits, transparency, and a voice on the job. We want our state to enact the worker protections that drivers have won in other parts of the country. In New York City, the courts decided drivers are entitled to unemployment insurance and other state employment benefits just like all employees. New York has forced the companies to pay at least the minimum wage through regulation that includes pay for a fair amount of wait time, and consideration of our high expenses. We need those protections too.
We keep hearing “flexibility” as a main reason why billionaires think workers should give up the protections we need. It’s the technology behind app-based work that makes it possible for workers to have increased flexibility. But that does not make us “independent contractors.”
It’s the technology behind app-based work that makes it possible for workers to have increased flexibility. But that does not make us ‘independent contractors.’
I have four jobs now. My day job being at a local high school and my evening job being at Applebee’s. I am an employee of Applebee’s and still get flexibility. We have an app called Stafflinq. Thanks to the app, I don’t have a schedule. I just pick up shifts as I please and when school is out, and the company pays into unemployment and Social Security. There is nothing preventing Uber and Lyft from doing the same.
And at the high school, my job meets most criteria for a dignified workplace. Other than the pay, I can now say I have good healthcare, PTO, workers compensation, and insurance coverage for my family should anything happen to me. My union takes action when there are workplace problems. I believe every worker should have access to these fundamental protections and rights.
Because I’ve been organizing for seven years, I have developed a community of workers who always have my back. Whether it’s borrowing a hundred bucks to pay a bill on time, getting support for organizing our new union in Portland, or turning out to influence legislation, I know that there are workers who will show up for the betterment of our communities.
