Imagine being a driver & seeing these messages about your job being cut. Of course you're going to be scared. It's a dirty, vile trick, praying on people's economic insecurity.
And the worst part is *none of it is true.* No one would force the companies to do this.
Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, & the rest of the gig companies talk about flexibility all the time, saying drivers will lose it.
But that's entirely up to them. If they want to ensure flexibility in the app, they can *design* that—that's their whole job! Designing apps & workflow.
There is nothing in current law that says Uber, Lyft, etc. have to schedule shifts or make drivers jump through hoops to work.
They could instead design a system that ensures flexibility *and* healthcare, sick leave, benefits.
It's not hard. They can figure it out.
But instead, they push this series of truly frightening messages onto drivers.
These companies are fighting tooth & nail to institute a new subclass of workers w/no real protections, a model they'll export across the country & world.
BREAKING: The @VoteNoOnProp22 filed a complaint with @USPS this morning in response to Uber, Lyft, etc sending out mailers using the "Non Profit Status" price.
We believe they owe USPS over $1.5m.
The $189m corporate campaign is taking a public subsidy.
1/X
Here's what the mailers look like.
Check out the postage section "non profit status"
Only certain groups qualify for that status: eg. religious, educational, scientific, philanthropic (charitable), etc. The Uber & Lyft. campaign is definitely not eligible for non profit status
Per the last filings the Yes campaign spent $3.5m on mailers. The normal bulk rate for flat fee is 26 cents, the non profit rate is 18 cents. This means they saved at least 30% which comes out at $1.5m.
This is effectively a public subsidy for a $200m corporate campaign.
We just met a Lyft driver from Afghanistan. He came over after working security for the US Army for 5 yrs.
His 11 m/o daughter was born here. His full-time job is Lyft. He works in SF but lives in Modesto—2.5 hrs away.
He works 12-hr shifts. He sleeps in his car between days.
He starts working at 9am & stops at 9pm. He sleeps in Safeway parking lots, in the Marina, wherever people don't bother him.
A man who had the incredibly dangerous job of protecting American soldiers in Afghanistan is now sleeping in his car working for Lyft.
Think about that.
This is how these gig firms treat their workers, putting them in such hard straits that they're forced to choose between spending time w/family & making a living.
And to make a living, people are skipping meals, skipping bathroom breaks, sleeping in cars.
3 months ago Steve was at work. It was 11pm. He was driving in Oakland en route to pick up a Lyft passenger. Out of nowhere a car crashed into him. Airbag exploded. The car was a write off. Steve’s neck was in pain & he had a ‘Nissan’ logo bruise on his arm, from the airbag.
Steve called Hertz, who he was renting the car from. No help. He looked everywhere to find the Lyft roadside assistance # & finally found it. They don’t make it easy. Later they told him he wouldn’t be covered as his app wasn’t on. It was. He was en route to pick up a passenger.
In the heat of the moment he posted an update on the Gig Workers Rising forum sharing with drivers he was stranded on the side of the road by the Grand Lake in Oakland, needed to go to hospital and Lyft and Hertz were not helping.