Media Advisory for August 27, 2019
SAN FRANCISCO: 12:00PM
OAKLAND: 4:00PM
Contact: Roxane Marquez, (213) 705-1078
Coral Itzcalli, (213) 321-7332
HUNDREDS OF UBER AND LYFT DRIVERS ON HISTORIC 500-MILE, THREE DAY PILGRIMAGE TAKE DEMANDS TO UBER HQ IN DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO IN UNPRECEDENTED SHOW OF DRIVER STRENGTH
Noon: Hundreds of Uber and Lyft Drivers from across California will descend on the Bay Area, taking their hundreds-strong motor pilgrimage to Uber’s doorstep to demand they not impede the passage of Assembly Bill 5 and a path to unionization for drivers.
4pm: Drivers will discuss their struggles and their demand for AB 5 and a union at a worker roundtable in Oakland
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — On day two of their historic three day, 500-mile motor pilgrimage, hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers with Mobile Workers Alliance (MWA) and Gig Workers Rising (GWR) will take their demands directly to Uber headquarters on Market Street in San Francisco, bringing the hundreds-strong pilgrimage to the company’s doorstep to demand Uber end its misinformation campaign around California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) and to call for a path to a union for drivers.
Drivers will then head to Oakland for a worker round table where they will discuss how their struggles with low pay, and how AB 5 and a path for gig workers to unionize are crucial to their success.
The drivers’ display of statewide solidarity and power comes on the second day of their motor pilgrimage winding from Los Angeles through the Central Valley and Bay Area before arriving in Sacramento. Drivers aim to raise nationwide awareness of their current misclassification as independent contractors, which leads to widespread exploitation at the hands of billion-dollar tech companies.
The drivers are calling on gig workers, supporters and lawmakers to support AB5, which would correctly classify them as employees and entitle them to the basic worker protections offered to any employee, like a minimum wage, health insurance, and paid sick days.
SAN FRANCISCO:
WHAT: Motor March, Street Takeover and Rally at Uber Headquarters
WHO: Uber and Lyft drivers traveling from Los Angeles, local Uber and Lyft drivers, and Community Allies
WHEN: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 starting at 12:00 PM
WHERE: Uber Headquarters, 1455 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94103
VISUALS: Hundreds of Uber and Lyft driver vehicles with car flags and signs, massive floating banners with slogans “AB 5 and a Union” and “Unions for All”
OAKLAND:
WHAT: Gig drivers will be joined by labor and community allies as they discuss their struggles
with low pay, the fight for AB5 and the need for California to create a path for gig workers to be able to unionize.
WHO: Uber and Lyft drivers traveling from Los Angeles, local Uber and Lyft drivers, and Community Allies
WHEN: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 starting at 4:00 PM
WHERE: Taylor Memorial Methodist Church, 1188 12th St., Oakland, CA 94607
VISUALS: Hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers with flags and signs, massive floating banners with slogans “AB 5 and a Union” and “Unions for All”
Uber and Lyft have been two of the bill’s largest opponents and used their considerable influence and billions of dollars to lobby both lawmakers and drivers against it. Tactics the companies have employed include media blitzes in major papers, sending misleading push notifications to drivers through their apps, and even paying drivers up to $100 to attend anti-AB5 rallies.
This will be the first time that MWA and GWR drivers from across the state will bring their motor caravan to the corporate giant’s home base, sounding the alarm on the plight of Uber and Lyft drivers — and demanding the companies stop their campaign against workers’ rights.
On day one, the drivers met with United Farm Workers members in Delano and Fresno, drawing inspiration from their fight decades ago – one that is paralleled in the battle for gig workers’ rights. The driver’s motor pilgrimage is homage to the UFW’s famous march to Sacramento in 1966.
The motor pilgrimage is scheduled to arrive in Sacramento on day three – featuring a grand finale on the steps of the California State Capitol where drivers will call for “AB5 and a Union” and culminating with an inaugural workers’ summit where drivers from across the state will share their experiences and strategize on how to grow their movement and win a union.
Background:
Rideshare drivers throughout California and in Los Angeles County have been organizing for living wages, benefits, and the right to form a union at the same time as Assembly Bill (AB-5) makes its way through the State Legislature. AB-5, authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and championed by the Mobile Workers Alliance, seeks to correctly classify rideshare drivers as employees and greatly expand their labor rights, including a minimum wage, benefits, and basic job protections. Throughout the 2018-2019 Legislative Session, drivers have also consistently urged state lawmakers to take even further action to ensure drivers secure a pathway to collectively bargain with Uber and Lyft through a driver-led union..
The motor pilgrimage arrives on the heels MWA drivers compelling the City of El Monte to become the first City in the United States to move forward to a $30/hr. wage of Uber and Lyft drivers. As it currently stands, rideshare drivers are misclassified as “independent contractors” by gig economy giants like Uber and Lyft, and forced to cover the companies’ costs of ferrying riders back and forth. A recent study on rideshare drivers conducted by the Economic Policy Institute pegged the average hourly wage for Uber drivers at $9.21 after driving expenses—an amount far below LA County’s minimum wage.
Assembly Bill 5, which is predicted to reach the governor’s desk in the fall, would mandate gig companies to correctly classify drivers as employees. The bill has been met with open resistance by Uber and Lyft, as well as the California Chamber of Commerce, while driver organizing groups like Mobile Workers Alliance and Gig Workers Rising have been campaigning across the state in support of the bill.
“Uber and Lyft claim that they care about the drivers and that they want to talk to us, but it’s hard to have a conversation when somebody with all the resources in the world is doing everything they can to stand on your neck,” Uber driver Ramon Gonzalez said. “We’re going to show them Tuesday that we’re not going to take it. Uber and Lyft need to play by the same rules as everyone else. They need to get out of the way on AB5 and classify their workers correctly. If they really want to talk to us, let’s do it at the table, with the power of a union.”
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