Gig Drivers Rally For Better Treatment

Thirteen Uber and Lyft drivers gathered on the Green by the corner of Chapel and College Street Thursday to describe mistreatment on the job, and vow to take joint action.

The drivers belong to Connecticut Drivers United, an advocacy group for gig-worker drivers across the state. The group was founded in 2018, when Uber cut per-mileage-pay for drivers from 89 cents to 65 cents. Since then, the group has expanded to almost 300 members, advocating for better treatment of drivers. (Read previous stories about them here and here.)

“We want people to know that there’s someone here who cares,” said Rosana Olan, one of the organizers. ​“We haven’t been out in the pandemic, but we want people to know that drivers are still fighting.”

During the pandemic, the group has been meeting weekly on Zoom. It has also established itself as a legal not-for-profit, created a website, and recruited 20 new members in the last month.

“We’re here to announce our new nonprofit status, and promote the foundation,” said organizer Carlos Gomez.

Drivers’ concerns have only escalated since the start of the pandemic.

“I felt unsafe everyday,” said Gomez, who has been driving for six years. During the pandemic, he has sharply cut his hours out of safety concerns. Uber gave drivers an initial safety kit, he said, but ​“it was only enough for three days.” When he requested for refills, he said, they never came.

Ten out of the thirteen drivers present said they did not receive any follow-up kits after they requested them.

Uber did not respond to the Independent’s request for comment by publication time.

Beyond a lack of personal equipment, drivers noted varied experiences with passengers.

“A woman spit on me,” said Jose Factor, who said he has driving for Uber for two years. He drove for the first few weeks of the pandemic, but after experiences like this, he stopped for six months altogether. ​“She was coughing, without a mask and gloves. She said she was ​‘clearing her throat,’ but I know what it was.”

Factor promptly stopped the ride, which is when the woman spit at him. He then contacted Uber for support. Uber referred him to the New Haven police, who said they would respond in a few days because it was not an emergency.

After a few weeks of Factor calling both the police and Uber, Uber told Factor that the passenger would no longer be assigned to rides with him. Factor showed his communications with a company representative, which took place on Uber’s chat feature, to the Independent.

“I won’t have to see her in the future,” he said. ​“But that’s not protecting the other drivers who will. Why wasn’t her account banned?” He noted that while drivers who are accused of any infraction are immediately banned, customers are not.

For others, passengers have been respectful.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, people didn’t always wear masks,” said Alex Francis, who has been driving for five years. ​“But now they do.”

Besides the safety concerns, all the drivers have felt economic impacts during Covid.

“It’s been tough, since it’s my only way of earning,” said Francis. ​“People are not going out, so there are less passengers. But I need to pay the bills.”

“I’m managing, he said. ​“I take every ride I can.”

Yesenia (who declined to give her last name) said she stopped driving altogether because of increased responsibilities at home. ​“I started driving when I started college at Gateway four years ago,” she said. She wanted a job with flexible hours, and Uber fit the bill. ​“Now, I’ve stopped because my granddaughter is at home doing home school.”

“They listen to customers, but not us,” she said of Uber.

“I want to stay home because I know Covid affects people with pre-existing health conditions,” added Olan. Even before the pandemic, she had to find other methods of work to supplement the lower income, such as DJing and photography. Her husband and other family help with financial support, she said. ​“I’m so grateful for them, because frankly I wouldn’t even have a car.”

What next?

“We want to introduce a bill in 2021 that will allow us to negotiate with Uber,” said Olan. ​“When companies negotiate with us, it improves the economy.” Olan acknowledged that the economy was already suffering, but argued that ​“it’s not just about creating jobs, it’s about sustaining jobs.”

“Politicians don’t care about us,” a man responded. (He refused to be named.) He cited California proposition in yesterday’s election. ​“The companies won again.”

In 2019, the group helped advocate for a state bill that would require 75 percent of profits to go to drivers, but the bill didn’t pass. ​“It’s hard to get politicians to understand the difficulties of drivers,” said Olan.

When asked about Tuesday’s elections and challenges ahead, Olan didn’t see a change: ​“We already have strong relationships with New Haven representatives like Robyn Porter and Gary Winfield, and it’s the same people in office again. The harder [thing] is convincing the Republicans.”