Dozens of drivers from Uber and Lyft demanded city lawmakers do more to protect their jobs during a lively protest at City Hall on Wednesday.
The workers, who were from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA), urged the NYC Council to pass Intro. 0276, a bill that they said would stop rideshare companies from arbitrarily firing drivers without cause or recourse.
Among the features of Int. 0276, the burden of proof would be put on the companies, not the drivers, in deactivation cases. It would also prohibit “high-volume for-hire vehicle services from deactivating high-volume for-hire vehicle drivers, unless due to just cause or a bona fide economic reason,” according to the bill’s summary.
Intro. 0276, sponsored by Queens City Council Member Shekar Krishnan, has been pushed into the spotlight as other app-based workers were impacted by mass deactivations of their accounts, including delivery workers from Grubhub.
“I’m proud to stand together with Uber and Lyft drivers today as we rally to pass my bill, which will stop the big apps from arbitrarily firing drivers without cause or recourse and give more power to the workers,” Krishnan said. “We must stand up for workers’ rights and immediately pass this bill that protects job security for these drivers.”
In the case of Grubhub, more than 50 delivery workers were reported to have had their accounts deactivated without warning over the previous two weeks.
“No one should wake up and check their phone only to find out their livelihood has been terminated with no warning or ability to appeal,” Krishnan said at the June 18 rally.
Meanwhile, a Lyft spokesperson told amNewYork that fairness is important, but so is safety for both riders and workers.
“A fair deactivation process is important, but it must not jeopardize the safety of riders on the platform,” the spokesperson said. “That’s why we’ve taken substantial steps to improve the deactivation experience for drivers, including a partnership with the Independent Drivers Guild in New York. These updates give drivers more information and, in appropriate cases, a clearer path forward, all while helping maintain the safety of everyone involved.”
amNewYork contacted Uber for comment on this issue, but is awaiting a response.
More than 200,000 people in NYC drive for Uber and Lyft, which NYTWA executive director Bhairavi Desai said is more than “any other employer” in the city. He cited the economic benefits and convenience of having such a massive workforce in NYC.
“The labor of Uber and Lyft drivers created billions of dollars in profits and made these companies household names across the globe,” Desai said. “Yet every day Uber and Lyft treat drivers like they are expendable, firing them without notice, cause, or recourse, and leaving them without income overnight.”
Saif Aizah, an NYTWA member and app driver, said he was “unfairly deactivated by Uber over paperwork” and now only works for Lyft.
“Since I only drive for Lyft, my earnings went down by more than half,” the driver shared. “Working with only 50% of my earnings, I’m already struggling just to pay my rent, car payments, insurance, etc. I am drowning in debt, my financial life is a tragedy. This puts a lot of stress on my mental health, to the point where I feel like I’m gonna have a mental breakdown. And some nights I can’t sleep worrying about how I will pay my bills.”
Intro. 0276 still needs to be passed before it can be considered law. Right now, it is being considered by the city council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
