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"content": "\u003cp>In a windowless room, Uber driver Farhan Badel took the podium in front of a committee of Minnesota state legislators in early May. As Badel leaned into the microphone and started speaking, the room quieted. Testifying before lawmakers was something he’d done nearly a dozen times before, but he says this time felt like his last chance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been fighting for two long years,” Badel stated, referencing ride-hail drivers’ battle to get a minimum wage law passed in the state. He said his message to lawmakers was this: “Uber and Lyft, especially Uber, notorious for their shady lobbying … should not be allowed to dictate what becomes law in this state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lobbying Badel referenced is part of a playbook Uber and Lyft have used in cities across the country to curb minimum wage laws for drivers. The San Francisco-based companies have barraged lawmakers with emails, sent warning messages to riders and drivers, and threatened to vacate states if they were forced to pay minimum wage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Minnesota, the campaign was particularly aggressive. Interviews with drivers and lawmakers, along with internal emails and documents obtained by NPR, show that Minnesota was the target of an intense operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hearing where Badel testified was the latest twist in a whiplash series of events. Over the last two years, ride-hail drivers had organized and grown into a more than 1,300-member group that marched at City Hall, met with lawmakers and brought national attention to their plight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They had seen wins and losses in dizzying succession: Three separate bills mandating minimum wage for ride-hail drivers passed at the state and city levels, only to get unexpectedly vetoed by Gov. Tim Walz or Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The drivers say it felt to them like a true David and Goliath situation, pitting them against multibillion-dollar corporations that seemed to hold far more power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990764\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990764\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farhan Badel, an Uber/Lyft driver and MULDA organizer, in Apple Valley, Minn., on May 25. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This spring it reached a boiling point. After gains by the drivers, Uber and Lyft stepped up their lobbying campaign and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1238885721/uber-lyft-minneapolis-minimum-wage-law\">threatened to pull out of Minneapolis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is part of their corporate playbook,” says Laura Padin, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.datocms-assets.com/64990/1714149807-the-bullys-playbook-april-2024.pdf\">studies lobbying in the gig economy (PDF)\u003c/a> at the National Employment Law Project, a labor rights advocacy organization. “The fact that they can issue threats and say ‘We’re going to leave if you treat us like everyone else’ is a big problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokespeople for Uber and Lyft say the proposed minimum wage would have left the companies unable to sustain their businesses in the state. Uber says it would have made Minnesota “one of the most expensive markets in the country,” and Lyft says it would have made “prices rise so much that we would have seen a 51% decrease in ride requests.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Walz and Frey, both labor-friendly Democrats, had been adamant that they wanted ride-hail drivers to make a livable wage. They also took the companies, and their warnings, seriously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From the very beginning, I had two primary goals,” Frey told NPR in an interview. “To get a very significant pay increase for drivers and to keep this very important rideshare service, including Uber and Lyft, in our city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Similar scenarios have played out in New York and Seattle, which ultimately passed city minimum wage laws. But every state law governing driver pay and protections that has been crafted to date has included provisions backed by Uber and Lyft — through their \u003ca href=\"https://www.nybooks.com/online/2024/05/09/inside-uber-political-machine/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=2024-05-09_Wells-Uber-1\">lobbying and public campaigns\u003c/a>. For example, in California, the companies \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1422181&session=2019&view=received\">spent a combined $108.5 million\u003c/a> on a successful \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/11/05/931561150/california-voters-give-uber-lyft-a-win-but-some-drivers-arent-so-sure\">ballot measure campaign\u003c/a> to exempt them from a state labor law. Another statewide battle happened in Washington, and one is underway in Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in Minnesota, something wholly unexpected happened last month — the drivers won.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘The worst I’ve seen in eight years’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It all started in a small coffee shop in Minneapolis. In the summer of 2022, ride-hail driver Eid Ali gathered with about 20 Uber and Lyft drivers to talk about low pay, safety concerns and other issues that come with the job. Ali is a father of five and the sole provider for his family. Before he started driving for Uber and Lyft in 2014, Ali was a taxi driver and had done some organizing. He says this helped him and the other drivers come up with a game plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first step was to recruit more drivers. Ali and the others went to shopping malls and airport parking lots to speak with drivers. They also went to mosques — the majority of ride-hail drivers in Minneapolis are immigrants, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.dli.mn.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/TNC_driver_earnings_analysis_pay_standard_options_report_030824.pdf\">state data (PDF)\u003c/a>, with many from East Africa, especially Somalia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The drivers coalesced in a group called Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association, or MULDA, and Ali became the president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990765\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990765\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eid Ali, president of Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association (MULDA), at the organization’s offices in Bloomington, Minn., on May 25. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He says drivers reached out to him constantly about not being able to make ends meet. “Family folks raising kids, who depend on this income, are coming to me every day and telling me ‘I don’t know what to do,’” Ali says. “I was thinking that if I don’t do anything, if I don’t fight a few more days or maybe a few more weeks, who’s going to do that?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber and Lyft categorize drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. This means drivers pay their own expenses such as gas, car maintenance and cellphones, and they don’t have employee benefits, including health insurance, sick days and workers’ compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Low pay is the top problem, drivers say, as their earnings have steadily shrunk and become harder to predict. In 2022, both Uber and Lyft \u003ca href=\"https://themarkup.org/working-for-an-algorithm/2022/03/01/secretive-algorithm-will-now-determine-uber-driver-pay-in-many-cities\">switched how they paid drivers\u003c/a>, going from a time-and-mileage calculation to an opaque algorithm. Uber and Lyft say the software helps drivers pick and choose trips, but drivers say since that change they’ve seen the companies take a bigger cut, while they’ve gotten less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sergio Avedian, a longtime ride-hail driver in Los Angeles and senior contributor to the popular blog the \u003ca href=\"https://therideshareguy.com/\">Rideshare Guy\u003c/a>, says thousands of drivers regularly send him their pay stubs. “This is the worst I’ve seen in eight years,” he says, estimating he often earns less than minimum wage after expenses. “But people are driving, they’re desperate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Twin Cities metro area, where 95% of all of Minnesota’s ride-hail trips happen, the median take-home wage for drivers is $13.63 per hour, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.dli.mn.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/TNC_driver_earnings_analysis_pay_standard_options_report_030824.pdf\">report (PDF)\u003c/a> by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. That’s below the minimum wage for large businesses in St. Paul ($15) and Minneapolis ($15.57).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber’s spokesperson calls this report “\u003ca href=\"https://uberpubpolicy.medium.com/excessive-rates-and-their-negative-effects-a-review-of-minnesotas-proposed-pay-standard-9747c14d0254\">flawed\u003c/a>.” Lyft didn’t respond to questions about driver pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber and Lyft have shaped minimum wage laws in their favor in other states. In Washington, for example, after Seattle passed a minimum wage for ride-hail drivers, the two companies \u003ca href=\"https://themarkup.org/news/2022/03/04/bill-in-washington-state-would-be-first-to-bar-uber-and-lyft-drivers-from-being-classified-as-employees\">lobbied legislators\u003c/a> to pass a state law. That law gives drivers a minimum pay floor but also grants a key concession to the companies: ensuring that the drivers remain classified as independent contractors, which exempts the companies from providing customary worker benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990766\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990766\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Symbols for Uber and Lyft adorn Farhan Badel’s vehicle in Apple Valley, Minn. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By the fall of 2022, hundreds of drivers had joined MULDA, with the campaign crystallizing around the push for a minimum wage. That October, they \u003ca href=\"https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/10/20/uber-and-lyft-drivers-press-lawmakers-to-address-long-standing-labor-complaints/\">held their first press conference\u003c/a> at the Minnesota state Capitol. “Drivers are at a breaking point,” Ali announced, alongside state lawmakers that day. From there, their cause quickly picked up steam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By March 2023, state legislators had introduced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF2369&ssn=0&y=2023\">bill\u003c/a> that set out minimum pay and other protections for ride-hail drivers. It swiftly passed the House and Senate and landed on Walz’s desk in late May 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All signs pointed to Walz signing the bill, Badel says. The drivers got ready to celebrate a victory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Insiders told us to come to the state Capitol the day when they signed all these bills,” Badel says. “They told us to come there dressed well — you know, look presentable, look happy. So, we were getting all these checkmarks that he was going to sign the bill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A lobbying blitz\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What Badel and Ali didn’t know was that Uber and Lyft’s lobbyists were hard at work behind the scenes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Days before the governor received the bill, the companies’ lobbyists sent a slew of emails to his staffers and colleagues, according to public records obtained by NPR. Those included “talking points and numbers” that said rider fares would skyrocket if the bill passed. In Minneapolis, they said fares would go up 70%, without citing specific data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://apps.npr.org/dailygraphics/graphics/lyft-uber-playbook-20240610/aiTimeline.html?initialWidth=840&childId=responsive-embed-lyft-uber-playbook-20240610-aiTimeline&parentTitle=Uber%20and%20Lyft%20use%20lobbying%20to%20fight%20minimum%20wage%20law%20in%20Minnesota%20%3A%20NPR&parentUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2024%2F06%2F17%2Fnx-s1-4942958%2Fuber-minimum-wage-minnesota-lyft-lobbying\" width=\"800\" height=\"2200\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brent Kent, a registered lobbyist for Lyft and the company’s director of public policy, sent a letter to Minnesota’s Senate president saying the bill would have a “catastrophic impact” and create “transportation deserts.” Rides in Minneapolis would go from $17 to $54, he said, also not citing specific data for that statistic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As signing day neared, the lobbyists ramped up their efforts. They requested phone calls between Walz and the CEOs of both Uber and Lyft. At one point, Uber lobbyist Joel Carlson emailed the governor’s legislative assistant asking for an alternative email for the office, because he said he had a lot of people wanting to write in with opposition to the bill and didn’t want to “email bomb” her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carlson also fired off “veto request” letters he collected from 11 community groups — business and hospitality associations as well as organizations that work with people with disabilities, the elderly and domestic violence survivors. At least half of those groups have partnered with Uber or Lyft, but that wasn’t disclosed in their letters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber’s spokesperson says it “engaged many organizations and local stakeholders to ensure they understood the impact of the legislation” and “many decided to express their concerns.” The spokesperson also confirmed that Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi had spoken with the governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990767\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990767\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew McGlory, a rideshare driver and active member of MULDA, in downtown Minneapolis. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We urged the governor to veto the bill publicly, as well, via issued statements and in emails to riders and drivers,” the spokesperson says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft didn’t respond to questions about its involvement with the letters from community groups or conversations between its CEO and the governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Days before the anticipated signing, the companies rolled out a tactic they’d used in California, New York, Texas and other states: They \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uber-minnesota-rideshare-driver-bill-veto-tim-walz/\">threatened to leave the state\u003c/a> if the bill was signed into law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By May 25, 2023, Ali says he and the other drivers were anxious about the outcome. They gathered in front of Walz’s office chanting, “Governor sign the bill!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That afternoon, Walz issued his \u003ca href=\"https://www.house.mn.gov/NewLaws/story/2023/5502\">first and only veto\u003c/a> in four years as governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His veto letter started off saying the minimum wage bill “could make Minnesota one of the most expensive states in the country for rideshare.” It cited the need to maintain ride-hail services in the state and also referenced the letters from community groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokeswoman for Walz says that alongside the veto, the governor \u003ca href=\"https://mn.gov/governor/assets/EO%2023-07%20TNC_tcm1055-579270.pdf\">formed a task force (PDF)\u003c/a> to study the issue. She pointed NPR to a \u003ca href=\"https://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/press-releases/#/detail/appId/1/id/579275\">press release\u003c/a> where he said, “Rideshare drivers deserve fair wages and safe working conditions … This is not the right bill to achieve these goals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ali says it was a big surprise and a major blow for MULDA. “That was my worst nightmare, because I didn’t know what to say to those drivers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘You’re our last resort’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As the state bill made its way through the Legislature, the MULDA drivers were also simultaneously working with city council members in Minneapolis. After the governor’s veto, the drivers reorganized and went all in at the local level — becoming ever-present at City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They came to City Hall many, many times, saying: ‘Government officials, you’re our last resort,’” says Robin Wonsley, the Minneapolis council member for Ward 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The makeup of the workforce for the rideshare companies is predominantly Black, predominantly immigrant and also predominantly low income,” she added. “And many of these drivers, or a disproportionate number of these drivers, are \u003ca href=\"https://www.dli.mn.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/TNC_driver_earnings_analysis_pay_standard_options_report_030824.pdf\">actually on public assistance (PDF)\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990768\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990768\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Robin Wonsley, Minneapolis council member for Ward 2, outside City Hall in Bloomington, Minn., on May 26. Wonsley and colleagues worked on a city ordinance to give ride-hail drivers a minimum wage in Minneapolis. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She joined fellow council members Jamal Osman, who’d introduced her to MULDA, and Jason Chavez to work on a city ordinance. They reached out to economists and experts to come up with a calculation that would be equivalent to the city’s minimum wage. Uber and Lyft only pay drivers when they’re giving rides and not when they’re waiting for a passenger, so a straight hourly wage wouldn’t work. The \u003ca href=\"https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/MetaData/31233/2023-052_Id_31233.pdf\">ordinance (PDF)\u003c/a> they introduced mandated that drivers be paid $1.40 per mile and 51¢ per minute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It \u003ca href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/08/17/minneapolis-approves-measure-to-boost-pay-for-uber-lyft-drivers\">passed the council\u003c/a> in August 2023 by a 7–5 vote. But behind the scenes, the companies’ lobbyists were leaning hard on Frey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As with the governor, Uber and Lyft’s lobbyists targeted the mayor, according to internal emails obtained by NPR through public records requests. Lyft’s Kent reached out to staffers saying the company had “grave concerns.” He sent the mayor and council members an opposition letter from a Lyft executive that had one sentence bolded and underlined: “Should this proposal become law, Lyft will be forced to cease operations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Uber’s Carlson called the ordinance “problematic.” On Aug. 21, Carlson emailed a senior aide at City Hall, saying he had spoken with the mayor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Uber understands the importance and optics to provide a thoughtful response to the council’s vote and have offered to him the opportunity to announce the following if he chooses,” the email reads. Carlson said the mayor could announce that Uber pledges to give drivers a minimum wage and a $5 minimum on all trips. He sent suggested language for the mayor’s announcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990769\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990769\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In Minneapolis, the median take-home wage for ride-hail drivers is nearly $2 less than the minimum wage. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The next day, Frey \u003ca href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/08/22/minneapolis-mayor-jacob-frey-vetoes-rideshare-bill\">vetoed the ordinance\u003c/a>. In his \u003ca href=\"https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/FileV2/32370/2023_052-Veto-Letter.pdf\">veto letter (PDF)\u003c/a>, he said he’d work on another ordinance that included all stakeholders. The mayor also wrote that he was “pleased to share” that he secured a commitment from Uber to provide drivers a minimum wage and a $5 minimum per ride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber’s spokesperson says the minimum wage guarantee “was not part of any negotiations.” A spokesperson for Frey says the commitment from Uber “was not in exchange for a veto.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wonsley says she was outraged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we having city leaders now supporting a multibillion-dollar corporation and having an exemption from a city policy that hundreds of small businesses have been in compliance with?” she says, referring to the city’s minimum wage law. “And then he announced a nonbinding agreement with Uber, saying, ‘Look, we don’t need to change nothing, the company has made a commitment, a symbolic commitment to pay drivers more.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were like ‘Wait, what?’ ” Wonsley adds. “That makes absolutely no sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frey’s spokesperson says the commitment from Uber “was never intended to be a permanent solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Public pressure campaign\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The mayor’s veto, coming after the governor’s veto, could have been the end for MULDA drivers’ quest to get a minimum wage law. In other states that went through similar scenarios, such setbacks have taken the wind out of organizing efforts. But Ali and Badel say they came too close to give up. And council member Wonsley says she wasn’t ready to back down either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She and her colleagues introduced two more ordinances in October 2023. One focused on minimum wage, the other on worker protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Less than six months later, the council passed the new minimum wage \u003ca href=\"https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/FileV2/34129/Transportation-Rideshare-Compensation-Ordinance.pdf\">ordinance (PDF)\u003c/a> by a 9–4 vote. The next day, once again, Frey vetoed the ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I asked the City Council to wait one day,” says Frey, until after the release of the statewide report on driver earnings. “Both times I vetoed it because it wasn’t supported by the data. And so, we should be listening to the data.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This time, however, the council had enough votes to \u003ca href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/03/14/minneapolis-city-council-overrides-freys-veto-on-ordinance-boosting-rideshare-driver-pay\">override his veto\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With this go-round, Uber and Lyft kicked their pressure campaign up a notch. Instead of mostly working with lawmakers behind closed doors, the companies brought their lobbying to the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a full-court press campaign,” Wonsley says. “Every single day there are several articles, interviews in the press, basically demonizing our actions and creating a lot of confusion for the public around what our policy actually accomplished.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The day after the veto override, Uber and Lyft \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1238885721/uber-lyft-minneapolis-minimum-wage-law\">announced they were leaving Minneapolis\u003c/a> as soon as the ordinance went into effect. It was around this time that Matthew McGlory, a MULDA member and longtime Uber and Lyft driver, started getting in-app messages and emails from the companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990770\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990770\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew McGlory, a rideshare driver and active member of MULDA, in downtown Minneapolis on May 26. McGlory says drivers in other states have been watching Minnesota, waiting to see what happened. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We know that this decision will have a huge negative effect,” a message from Uber read. “It will put thousands of drivers — like you — out of work.” Uber provided a link to email lawmakers urging them to pass statewide legislation that could preempt the city ordinance and be more favorable to the companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft, meanwhile, sent an email to its riders saying the ordinance would make rides “unaffordable” for the majority of residents. Lyft’s spokesperson didn’t respond to questions about the in-app messages. Uber’s spokesperson says, “The message speaks for itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was also a flurry of activity in the local news. Uber put an online ad in the \u003cem>Star Tribune\u003c/em> saying Minneapolis was “forcing” it to leave and offered a button to click to “save our rides.” Dan Meyers, a director at disability advocacy group Rise, \u003ca href=\"https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-rideshare-driver-pay-proposal-looks-at-only-one-side-of-equation/600348209/\">wrote an op-ed\u003c/a> saying the ordinance would be “devastating to the disability community.” Lyft and Rise are \u003ca href=\"https://rise.org/12858-2/\">longtime partners\u003c/a>, which wasn’t disclosed in the op-ed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Rise says, “Our work with Lyft is well-known among our peers and partners.” Lyft didn’t respond to questions about any possible involvement with the op-ed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with the ordinance set to go into effect in Minneapolis, MULDA drivers say they were still nervous. A statewide bill could preempt the city ordinance and undercut their pay. It was hard to tell which way it would go.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘No one else has been able to do this in the country’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The same day Farhan Badel took the podium in early May pleading with state lawmakers to not let the ride-hail companies dictate the law, Uber’s Carlson also spoke. They were discussing a compromise state bill that would preempt the Minneapolis ordinance — it offered drivers a rate of $1.27 per mile and 49¢ per minute. Carlson told the lawmakers this wouldn’t work for Uber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11986533,news_11987167,forum_2010101905828\"]“Uber has calculated that if you reasonably calculate the expenses you come up with a rate of 41¢ per mile and 68¢ per minute,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislators left that hearing without giving any indication\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>which way it would go. But a couple of weeks later, they made a move that stunned observers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the night of May 19, \u003ca href=\"https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/05/21/heres-whats-in-the-bill-regulating-uber-and-lyft-driver-pay-and-labor-standards/\">the state passed a new bill\u003c/a> giving drivers the minimum wage rate of $1.28 per mile and 31¢ per minute. Even though it was slightly lower and preempted the Minneapolis ordinance, Wonsley and the council backed it. Frey says he was opposed to the preemption, but that he ultimately supported the bill too since he says it was “nearly identical” to what he proposed months earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a major win for the MULDA drivers. After the bill’s passage, in a moment of jubilation in the Capitol’s hallways, they hoisted one of the state legislators in the air and chanted “MULDA” over and over. The legislator, Sen. Omar Fateh, who was instrumental in getting the bill passed, said, “It was Uber and Lyft versus MULDA and MULDA won.” The crowd erupted in cheers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990771\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990771\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rideshare vehicles share the road with other drivers in downtown Minneapolis. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Spokespeople for Uber and Lyft say the companies accepted the compromise, and that neither will shutter operations in the state. Unlike the minimum pay laws for ride-hail drivers in California and Washington state, Minnesota’s bill doesn’t mandate that drivers remain independent contractors — something Uber and Lyft had sought, but didn’t get.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On May 28, Walz signed the bill into law with Ali by his side wearing a white MULDA T-shirt. During a press conference announcing its passage, the governor congratulated state lawmakers. “No one else has been able to do this in the country,” Walz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The driver McGlory says MULDA has heard from drivers in other states who have been watching Minnesota over the past year and a half, waiting to see what happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m doing this not just for drivers in Minneapolis. I’m doing this for the drivers in Nashville, Tenn. I’m doing this for drivers in Jackson, Miss.,” McGlory says, pausing for a moment before continuing. “Because when we educate ourselves, when we organize ourselves and we mobilize ourselves, we can win.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Like my favorite physics teacher said, ‘We have to become an unstoppable force that meets an immovable object.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Uber and Lyft have lobbied in cities across the country to curb minimum wage laws for drivers, but drivers of the ride-hail companies in Minnesota scored a hard-fought victory after years of struggle.",
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"title": "Uber and Lyft Are Fighting Minimum Wage Laws. But in This State, the Drivers Won | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In a windowless room, Uber driver Farhan Badel took the podium in front of a committee of Minnesota state legislators in early May. As Badel leaned into the microphone and started speaking, the room quieted. Testifying before lawmakers was something he’d done nearly a dozen times before, but he says this time felt like his last chance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been fighting for two long years,” Badel stated, referencing ride-hail drivers’ battle to get a minimum wage law passed in the state. He said his message to lawmakers was this: “Uber and Lyft, especially Uber, notorious for their shady lobbying … should not be allowed to dictate what becomes law in this state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lobbying Badel referenced is part of a playbook Uber and Lyft have used in cities across the country to curb minimum wage laws for drivers. The San Francisco-based companies have barraged lawmakers with emails, sent warning messages to riders and drivers, and threatened to vacate states if they were forced to pay minimum wage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Minnesota, the campaign was particularly aggressive. Interviews with drivers and lawmakers, along with internal emails and documents obtained by NPR, show that Minnesota was the target of an intense operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hearing where Badel testified was the latest twist in a whiplash series of events. Over the last two years, ride-hail drivers had organized and grown into a more than 1,300-member group that marched at City Hall, met with lawmakers and brought national attention to their plight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They had seen wins and losses in dizzying succession: Three separate bills mandating minimum wage for ride-hail drivers passed at the state and city levels, only to get unexpectedly vetoed by Gov. Tim Walz or Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The drivers say it felt to them like a true David and Goliath situation, pitting them against multibillion-dollar corporations that seemed to hold far more power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990764\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990764\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farhan Badel, an Uber/Lyft driver and MULDA organizer, in Apple Valley, Minn., on May 25. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This spring it reached a boiling point. After gains by the drivers, Uber and Lyft stepped up their lobbying campaign and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1238885721/uber-lyft-minneapolis-minimum-wage-law\">threatened to pull out of Minneapolis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is part of their corporate playbook,” says Laura Padin, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.datocms-assets.com/64990/1714149807-the-bullys-playbook-april-2024.pdf\">studies lobbying in the gig economy (PDF)\u003c/a> at the National Employment Law Project, a labor rights advocacy organization. “The fact that they can issue threats and say ‘We’re going to leave if you treat us like everyone else’ is a big problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokespeople for Uber and Lyft say the proposed minimum wage would have left the companies unable to sustain their businesses in the state. Uber says it would have made Minnesota “one of the most expensive markets in the country,” and Lyft says it would have made “prices rise so much that we would have seen a 51% decrease in ride requests.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Walz and Frey, both labor-friendly Democrats, had been adamant that they wanted ride-hail drivers to make a livable wage. They also took the companies, and their warnings, seriously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From the very beginning, I had two primary goals,” Frey told NPR in an interview. “To get a very significant pay increase for drivers and to keep this very important rideshare service, including Uber and Lyft, in our city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Similar scenarios have played out in New York and Seattle, which ultimately passed city minimum wage laws. But every state law governing driver pay and protections that has been crafted to date has included provisions backed by Uber and Lyft — through their \u003ca href=\"https://www.nybooks.com/online/2024/05/09/inside-uber-political-machine/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=2024-05-09_Wells-Uber-1\">lobbying and public campaigns\u003c/a>. For example, in California, the companies \u003ca href=\"https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1422181&session=2019&view=received\">spent a combined $108.5 million\u003c/a> on a successful \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/11/05/931561150/california-voters-give-uber-lyft-a-win-but-some-drivers-arent-so-sure\">ballot measure campaign\u003c/a> to exempt them from a state labor law. Another statewide battle happened in Washington, and one is underway in Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in Minnesota, something wholly unexpected happened last month — the drivers won.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘The worst I’ve seen in eight years’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It all started in a small coffee shop in Minneapolis. In the summer of 2022, ride-hail driver Eid Ali gathered with about 20 Uber and Lyft drivers to talk about low pay, safety concerns and other issues that come with the job. Ali is a father of five and the sole provider for his family. Before he started driving for Uber and Lyft in 2014, Ali was a taxi driver and had done some organizing. He says this helped him and the other drivers come up with a game plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first step was to recruit more drivers. Ali and the others went to shopping malls and airport parking lots to speak with drivers. They also went to mosques — the majority of ride-hail drivers in Minneapolis are immigrants, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.dli.mn.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/TNC_driver_earnings_analysis_pay_standard_options_report_030824.pdf\">state data (PDF)\u003c/a>, with many from East Africa, especially Somalia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The drivers coalesced in a group called Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association, or MULDA, and Ali became the president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990765\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990765\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn2-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eid Ali, president of Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association (MULDA), at the organization’s offices in Bloomington, Minn., on May 25. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He says drivers reached out to him constantly about not being able to make ends meet. “Family folks raising kids, who depend on this income, are coming to me every day and telling me ‘I don’t know what to do,’” Ali says. “I was thinking that if I don’t do anything, if I don’t fight a few more days or maybe a few more weeks, who’s going to do that?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber and Lyft categorize drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. This means drivers pay their own expenses such as gas, car maintenance and cellphones, and they don’t have employee benefits, including health insurance, sick days and workers’ compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Low pay is the top problem, drivers say, as their earnings have steadily shrunk and become harder to predict. In 2022, both Uber and Lyft \u003ca href=\"https://themarkup.org/working-for-an-algorithm/2022/03/01/secretive-algorithm-will-now-determine-uber-driver-pay-in-many-cities\">switched how they paid drivers\u003c/a>, going from a time-and-mileage calculation to an opaque algorithm. Uber and Lyft say the software helps drivers pick and choose trips, but drivers say since that change they’ve seen the companies take a bigger cut, while they’ve gotten less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sergio Avedian, a longtime ride-hail driver in Los Angeles and senior contributor to the popular blog the \u003ca href=\"https://therideshareguy.com/\">Rideshare Guy\u003c/a>, says thousands of drivers regularly send him their pay stubs. “This is the worst I’ve seen in eight years,” he says, estimating he often earns less than minimum wage after expenses. “But people are driving, they’re desperate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Twin Cities metro area, where 95% of all of Minnesota’s ride-hail trips happen, the median take-home wage for drivers is $13.63 per hour, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.dli.mn.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/TNC_driver_earnings_analysis_pay_standard_options_report_030824.pdf\">report (PDF)\u003c/a> by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. That’s below the minimum wage for large businesses in St. Paul ($15) and Minneapolis ($15.57).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber’s spokesperson calls this report “\u003ca href=\"https://uberpubpolicy.medium.com/excessive-rates-and-their-negative-effects-a-review-of-minnesotas-proposed-pay-standard-9747c14d0254\">flawed\u003c/a>.” Lyft didn’t respond to questions about driver pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber and Lyft have shaped minimum wage laws in their favor in other states. In Washington, for example, after Seattle passed a minimum wage for ride-hail drivers, the two companies \u003ca href=\"https://themarkup.org/news/2022/03/04/bill-in-washington-state-would-be-first-to-bar-uber-and-lyft-drivers-from-being-classified-as-employees\">lobbied legislators\u003c/a> to pass a state law. That law gives drivers a minimum pay floor but also grants a key concession to the companies: ensuring that the drivers remain classified as independent contractors, which exempts the companies from providing customary worker benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990766\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990766\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn3-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Symbols for Uber and Lyft adorn Farhan Badel’s vehicle in Apple Valley, Minn. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By the fall of 2022, hundreds of drivers had joined MULDA, with the campaign crystallizing around the push for a minimum wage. That October, they \u003ca href=\"https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/10/20/uber-and-lyft-drivers-press-lawmakers-to-address-long-standing-labor-complaints/\">held their first press conference\u003c/a> at the Minnesota state Capitol. “Drivers are at a breaking point,” Ali announced, alongside state lawmakers that day. From there, their cause quickly picked up steam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By March 2023, state legislators had introduced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF2369&ssn=0&y=2023\">bill\u003c/a> that set out minimum pay and other protections for ride-hail drivers. It swiftly passed the House and Senate and landed on Walz’s desk in late May 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All signs pointed to Walz signing the bill, Badel says. The drivers got ready to celebrate a victory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Insiders told us to come to the state Capitol the day when they signed all these bills,” Badel says. “They told us to come there dressed well — you know, look presentable, look happy. So, we were getting all these checkmarks that he was going to sign the bill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A lobbying blitz\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What Badel and Ali didn’t know was that Uber and Lyft’s lobbyists were hard at work behind the scenes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Days before the governor received the bill, the companies’ lobbyists sent a slew of emails to his staffers and colleagues, according to public records obtained by NPR. Those included “talking points and numbers” that said rider fares would skyrocket if the bill passed. In Minneapolis, they said fares would go up 70%, without citing specific data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://apps.npr.org/dailygraphics/graphics/lyft-uber-playbook-20240610/aiTimeline.html?initialWidth=840&childId=responsive-embed-lyft-uber-playbook-20240610-aiTimeline&parentTitle=Uber%20and%20Lyft%20use%20lobbying%20to%20fight%20minimum%20wage%20law%20in%20Minnesota%20%3A%20NPR&parentUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2024%2F06%2F17%2Fnx-s1-4942958%2Fuber-minimum-wage-minnesota-lyft-lobbying\" width=\"800\" height=\"2200\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brent Kent, a registered lobbyist for Lyft and the company’s director of public policy, sent a letter to Minnesota’s Senate president saying the bill would have a “catastrophic impact” and create “transportation deserts.” Rides in Minneapolis would go from $17 to $54, he said, also not citing specific data for that statistic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As signing day neared, the lobbyists ramped up their efforts. They requested phone calls between Walz and the CEOs of both Uber and Lyft. At one point, Uber lobbyist Joel Carlson emailed the governor’s legislative assistant asking for an alternative email for the office, because he said he had a lot of people wanting to write in with opposition to the bill and didn’t want to “email bomb” her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carlson also fired off “veto request” letters he collected from 11 community groups — business and hospitality associations as well as organizations that work with people with disabilities, the elderly and domestic violence survivors. At least half of those groups have partnered with Uber or Lyft, but that wasn’t disclosed in their letters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber’s spokesperson says it “engaged many organizations and local stakeholders to ensure they understood the impact of the legislation” and “many decided to express their concerns.” The spokesperson also confirmed that Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi had spoken with the governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990767\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990767\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn4-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew McGlory, a rideshare driver and active member of MULDA, in downtown Minneapolis. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We urged the governor to veto the bill publicly, as well, via issued statements and in emails to riders and drivers,” the spokesperson says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft didn’t respond to questions about its involvement with the letters from community groups or conversations between its CEO and the governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Days before the anticipated signing, the companies rolled out a tactic they’d used in California, New York, Texas and other states: They \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uber-minnesota-rideshare-driver-bill-veto-tim-walz/\">threatened to leave the state\u003c/a> if the bill was signed into law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By May 25, 2023, Ali says he and the other drivers were anxious about the outcome. They gathered in front of Walz’s office chanting, “Governor sign the bill!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That afternoon, Walz issued his \u003ca href=\"https://www.house.mn.gov/NewLaws/story/2023/5502\">first and only veto\u003c/a> in four years as governor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His veto letter started off saying the minimum wage bill “could make Minnesota one of the most expensive states in the country for rideshare.” It cited the need to maintain ride-hail services in the state and also referenced the letters from community groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokeswoman for Walz says that alongside the veto, the governor \u003ca href=\"https://mn.gov/governor/assets/EO%2023-07%20TNC_tcm1055-579270.pdf\">formed a task force (PDF)\u003c/a> to study the issue. She pointed NPR to a \u003ca href=\"https://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/press-releases/#/detail/appId/1/id/579275\">press release\u003c/a> where he said, “Rideshare drivers deserve fair wages and safe working conditions … This is not the right bill to achieve these goals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ali says it was a big surprise and a major blow for MULDA. “That was my worst nightmare, because I didn’t know what to say to those drivers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘You’re our last resort’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As the state bill made its way through the Legislature, the MULDA drivers were also simultaneously working with city council members in Minneapolis. After the governor’s veto, the drivers reorganized and went all in at the local level — becoming ever-present at City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They came to City Hall many, many times, saying: ‘Government officials, you’re our last resort,’” says Robin Wonsley, the Minneapolis council member for Ward 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The makeup of the workforce for the rideshare companies is predominantly Black, predominantly immigrant and also predominantly low income,” she added. “And many of these drivers, or a disproportionate number of these drivers, are \u003ca href=\"https://www.dli.mn.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/TNC_driver_earnings_analysis_pay_standard_options_report_030824.pdf\">actually on public assistance (PDF)\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990768\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990768\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn5-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Robin Wonsley, Minneapolis council member for Ward 2, outside City Hall in Bloomington, Minn., on May 26. Wonsley and colleagues worked on a city ordinance to give ride-hail drivers a minimum wage in Minneapolis. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She joined fellow council members Jamal Osman, who’d introduced her to MULDA, and Jason Chavez to work on a city ordinance. They reached out to economists and experts to come up with a calculation that would be equivalent to the city’s minimum wage. Uber and Lyft only pay drivers when they’re giving rides and not when they’re waiting for a passenger, so a straight hourly wage wouldn’t work. The \u003ca href=\"https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/MetaData/31233/2023-052_Id_31233.pdf\">ordinance (PDF)\u003c/a> they introduced mandated that drivers be paid $1.40 per mile and 51¢ per minute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It \u003ca href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/08/17/minneapolis-approves-measure-to-boost-pay-for-uber-lyft-drivers\">passed the council\u003c/a> in August 2023 by a 7–5 vote. But behind the scenes, the companies’ lobbyists were leaning hard on Frey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As with the governor, Uber and Lyft’s lobbyists targeted the mayor, according to internal emails obtained by NPR through public records requests. Lyft’s Kent reached out to staffers saying the company had “grave concerns.” He sent the mayor and council members an opposition letter from a Lyft executive that had one sentence bolded and underlined: “Should this proposal become law, Lyft will be forced to cease operations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Uber’s Carlson called the ordinance “problematic.” On Aug. 21, Carlson emailed a senior aide at City Hall, saying he had spoken with the mayor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Uber understands the importance and optics to provide a thoughtful response to the council’s vote and have offered to him the opportunity to announce the following if he chooses,” the email reads. Carlson said the mayor could announce that Uber pledges to give drivers a minimum wage and a $5 minimum on all trips. He sent suggested language for the mayor’s announcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990769\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990769\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn6-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In Minneapolis, the median take-home wage for ride-hail drivers is nearly $2 less than the minimum wage. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The next day, Frey \u003ca href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/08/22/minneapolis-mayor-jacob-frey-vetoes-rideshare-bill\">vetoed the ordinance\u003c/a>. In his \u003ca href=\"https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/FileV2/32370/2023_052-Veto-Letter.pdf\">veto letter (PDF)\u003c/a>, he said he’d work on another ordinance that included all stakeholders. The mayor also wrote that he was “pleased to share” that he secured a commitment from Uber to provide drivers a minimum wage and a $5 minimum per ride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber’s spokesperson says the minimum wage guarantee “was not part of any negotiations.” A spokesperson for Frey says the commitment from Uber “was not in exchange for a veto.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wonsley says she was outraged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we having city leaders now supporting a multibillion-dollar corporation and having an exemption from a city policy that hundreds of small businesses have been in compliance with?” she says, referring to the city’s minimum wage law. “And then he announced a nonbinding agreement with Uber, saying, ‘Look, we don’t need to change nothing, the company has made a commitment, a symbolic commitment to pay drivers more.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were like ‘Wait, what?’ ” Wonsley adds. “That makes absolutely no sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frey’s spokesperson says the commitment from Uber “was never intended to be a permanent solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Public pressure campaign\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The mayor’s veto, coming after the governor’s veto, could have been the end for MULDA drivers’ quest to get a minimum wage law. In other states that went through similar scenarios, such setbacks have taken the wind out of organizing efforts. But Ali and Badel say they came too close to give up. And council member Wonsley says she wasn’t ready to back down either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She and her colleagues introduced two more ordinances in October 2023. One focused on minimum wage, the other on worker protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Less than six months later, the council passed the new minimum wage \u003ca href=\"https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/FileV2/34129/Transportation-Rideshare-Compensation-Ordinance.pdf\">ordinance (PDF)\u003c/a> by a 9–4 vote. The next day, once again, Frey vetoed the ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I asked the City Council to wait one day,” says Frey, until after the release of the statewide report on driver earnings. “Both times I vetoed it because it wasn’t supported by the data. And so, we should be listening to the data.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This time, however, the council had enough votes to \u003ca href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/03/14/minneapolis-city-council-overrides-freys-veto-on-ordinance-boosting-rideshare-driver-pay\">override his veto\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With this go-round, Uber and Lyft kicked their pressure campaign up a notch. Instead of mostly working with lawmakers behind closed doors, the companies brought their lobbying to the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a full-court press campaign,” Wonsley says. “Every single day there are several articles, interviews in the press, basically demonizing our actions and creating a lot of confusion for the public around what our policy actually accomplished.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The day after the veto override, Uber and Lyft \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1238885721/uber-lyft-minneapolis-minimum-wage-law\">announced they were leaving Minneapolis\u003c/a> as soon as the ordinance went into effect. It was around this time that Matthew McGlory, a MULDA member and longtime Uber and Lyft driver, started getting in-app messages and emails from the companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990770\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990770\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn7-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matthew McGlory, a rideshare driver and active member of MULDA, in downtown Minneapolis on May 26. McGlory says drivers in other states have been watching Minnesota, waiting to see what happened. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We know that this decision will have a huge negative effect,” a message from Uber read. “It will put thousands of drivers — like you — out of work.” Uber provided a link to email lawmakers urging them to pass statewide legislation that could preempt the city ordinance and be more favorable to the companies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft, meanwhile, sent an email to its riders saying the ordinance would make rides “unaffordable” for the majority of residents. Lyft’s spokesperson didn’t respond to questions about the in-app messages. Uber’s spokesperson says, “The message speaks for itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was also a flurry of activity in the local news. Uber put an online ad in the \u003cem>Star Tribune\u003c/em> saying Minneapolis was “forcing” it to leave and offered a button to click to “save our rides.” Dan Meyers, a director at disability advocacy group Rise, \u003ca href=\"https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-rideshare-driver-pay-proposal-looks-at-only-one-side-of-equation/600348209/\">wrote an op-ed\u003c/a> saying the ordinance would be “devastating to the disability community.” Lyft and Rise are \u003ca href=\"https://rise.org/12858-2/\">longtime partners\u003c/a>, which wasn’t disclosed in the op-ed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for Rise says, “Our work with Lyft is well-known among our peers and partners.” Lyft didn’t respond to questions about any possible involvement with the op-ed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with the ordinance set to go into effect in Minneapolis, MULDA drivers say they were still nervous. A statewide bill could preempt the city ordinance and undercut their pay. It was hard to tell which way it would go.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘No one else has been able to do this in the country’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The same day Farhan Badel took the podium in early May pleading with state lawmakers to not let the ride-hail companies dictate the law, Uber’s Carlson also spoke. They were discussing a compromise state bill that would preempt the Minneapolis ordinance — it offered drivers a rate of $1.27 per mile and 49¢ per minute. Carlson told the lawmakers this wouldn’t work for Uber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Uber has calculated that if you reasonably calculate the expenses you come up with a rate of 41¢ per mile and 68¢ per minute,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislators left that hearing without giving any indication\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>which way it would go. But a couple of weeks later, they made a move that stunned observers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the night of May 19, \u003ca href=\"https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/05/21/heres-whats-in-the-bill-regulating-uber-and-lyft-driver-pay-and-labor-standards/\">the state passed a new bill\u003c/a> giving drivers the minimum wage rate of $1.28 per mile and 31¢ per minute. Even though it was slightly lower and preempted the Minneapolis ordinance, Wonsley and the council backed it. Frey says he was opposed to the preemption, but that he ultimately supported the bill too since he says it was “nearly identical” to what he proposed months earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a major win for the MULDA drivers. After the bill’s passage, in a moment of jubilation in the Capitol’s hallways, they hoisted one of the state legislators in the air and chanted “MULDA” over and over. The legislator, Sen. Omar Fateh, who was instrumental in getting the bill passed, said, “It was Uber and Lyft versus MULDA and MULDA won.” The crowd erupted in cheers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11990771\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11990771\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy.jpg 1700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/npr.brightspotcdn8-copy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rideshare vehicles share the road with other drivers in downtown Minneapolis. \u003ccite>(Jenn Ackerman for NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Spokespeople for Uber and Lyft say the companies accepted the compromise, and that neither will shutter operations in the state. Unlike the minimum pay laws for ride-hail drivers in California and Washington state, Minnesota’s bill doesn’t mandate that drivers remain independent contractors — something Uber and Lyft had sought, but didn’t get.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On May 28, Walz signed the bill into law with Ali by his side wearing a white MULDA T-shirt. During a press conference announcing its passage, the governor congratulated state lawmakers. “No one else has been able to do this in the country,” Walz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The driver McGlory says MULDA has heard from drivers in other states who have been watching Minnesota over the past year and a half, waiting to see what happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m doing this not just for drivers in Minneapolis. I’m doing this for the drivers in Nashville, Tenn. I’m doing this for drivers in Jackson, Miss.,” McGlory says, pausing for a moment before continuing. “Because when we educate ourselves, when we organize ourselves and we mobilize ourselves, we can win.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Like my favorite physics teacher said, ‘We have to become an unstoppable force that meets an immovable object.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The State Supreme Court today heard a case that could have a profound impact on app-based companies like Uber and Lyft as well as on their drivers. Proposition 22, which was passed by voters four years ago, allowed gig companies to reclassify workers as self-employed contractors, rather than employees. Now the state Supreme Court will decide whether to uphold the law, strike it down or strip out part and leave the rest intact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott and Marisa are joined by Brandon Stracener, an attorney in private practice and a senior research fellow at the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "In Effort to Make Rides Safer, Lyft Launches Women+ Connect",
"headTitle": "In Effort to Make Rides Safer, Lyft Launches Women+ Connect | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Some women and nonbinary drivers for Lyft can now match up with women and nonbinary riders, using a new feature launched by the rideshare service earlier this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The in-app option, called Women+ Connect, was added to Lyft’s services in a move to improve safety after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11773435/lyft-announces-new-safety-features-following-sexual-assault-lawsuit\">a raft of lawsuits\u003c/a> in recent years accused the company of failing to protect passengers and drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also designed to boost the number of women and nonbinary drivers working for the San Francisco-based company. Currently they make up just 23% of the drivers on the platform, according to Lyft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This highly requested feature offers more control over the driving experience for women and nonbinary people, allowing them to feel that much more confident. And with fewer barriers to driving, more women can access flexible earning opportunities,” Lyft said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.lyft.com/blog/posts/women-plus-connect\">statement\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers can choose to turn on a preference in the Lyft app to prioritize matches with other nearby women and nonbinary riders. It’s the same opt-in type of deal for riders. But it’s not a guarantee. If no riders or drivers matching the descriptions are nearby, they will still be paired up with men.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The added service is only being rolled out in San Francisco, San José, San Diego, Phoenix and Chicago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft and its primary rival, Uber, have come under increasing scrutiny over safety issues, especially sexual assaults, since launching more than a decade ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last September, Lyft was hit with \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/09/01/1120391757/lyft-lawsuits-assault-allegations'\">17 lawsuits \u003c/a>brought by users, claiming the company failed to protect passengers and drivers from physical and sexual assault. In 2019, it faced another similar \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11772148/14-women-allegedly-assaulted-by-lyft-drivers-sue-the-company\">wave of lawsuits\u003c/a> from women riders who accused the company of knowing about alleged attacks by predatory drivers for years but doing nothing to address the issue.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=news_11789891,news_11789655,news_11688338,news_11772148]It was this series of legal filings that prompted Lyft to \u003ca href=\"https://blog.lyft.com/posts/reinforcing-lyfts-commitment-to-safety\">announce added safety measures\u003c/a>, including an emergency call button on its app, new training for drivers and a “smart trip check in” that aims to sense when a trip has “unexplained delays” and pings a rider.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in June 2022, Lyft reached a $25 million settlement to resolve a shareholder class-action lawsuit that claimed the company concealed safety problems, including sexual assaults by drivers, prior to its 2019 initial public offering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft did not respond to NPR’s request for comment or updated data on driver and user safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://assets.ctfassets.net/q8mvene1wzq4/4t8IQ1XZ3dhEzYRKOzUMid/e1d2a6094ac15e4c2fd7a2462675850b/Community_Safety_Report_Appendix.pdf\">2021 community safety report (PDF)\u003c/a> issued by the company, revealed that more than 4,000 people were assaulted during Lyft rides from 2017–2019. Of those, 320 were attacks of “attempted non-consensual sexual penetration” and 360 were assaults involving “non-consensual sexual penetration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report included 10 fatal assaults from 2017 through 2019, “involving an individual using the Lyft platform.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, the company said that while grim, statistically the numbers are minuscule given the millions of rides offered each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A more recent \u003ca href=\"https://uber.app.box.com/s/vkx4zgwy6sxx2t2618520xt35rix022h?uclick_id=caa301b1-9f51-4a99-ac42-585420161ed5\">analysis \u003c/a>from Uber showed that company received 3,824 reports of sexual assault and misconduct from 2019 to 2020. According to Uber, riders were the accused party in 43% of the incidents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Human Rights Campaign chief of staff, Jay Brown called the new feature an inclusive product that’s coming “at a time when so many companies are shying away from explicit inclusion of transgender and non-binary people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown added: “When rideshare is better for these folks, it’s better for everyone, and we at HRC stand behind that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">npr.org\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Some women and nonbinary drivers for Lyft can now match up with women and nonbinary riders, using a new feature launched by the rideshare service earlier this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The in-app option, called Women+ Connect, was added to Lyft’s services in a move to improve safety after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11773435/lyft-announces-new-safety-features-following-sexual-assault-lawsuit\">a raft of lawsuits\u003c/a> in recent years accused the company of failing to protect passengers and drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also designed to boost the number of women and nonbinary drivers working for the San Francisco-based company. Currently they make up just 23% of the drivers on the platform, according to Lyft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This highly requested feature offers more control over the driving experience for women and nonbinary people, allowing them to feel that much more confident. And with fewer barriers to driving, more women can access flexible earning opportunities,” Lyft said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.lyft.com/blog/posts/women-plus-connect\">statement\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers can choose to turn on a preference in the Lyft app to prioritize matches with other nearby women and nonbinary riders. It’s the same opt-in type of deal for riders. But it’s not a guarantee. If no riders or drivers matching the descriptions are nearby, they will still be paired up with men.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The added service is only being rolled out in San Francisco, San José, San Diego, Phoenix and Chicago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft and its primary rival, Uber, have come under increasing scrutiny over safety issues, especially sexual assaults, since launching more than a decade ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last September, Lyft was hit with \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/09/01/1120391757/lyft-lawsuits-assault-allegations'\">17 lawsuits \u003c/a>brought by users, claiming the company failed to protect passengers and drivers from physical and sexual assault. In 2019, it faced another similar \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11772148/14-women-allegedly-assaulted-by-lyft-drivers-sue-the-company\">wave of lawsuits\u003c/a> from women riders who accused the company of knowing about alleged attacks by predatory drivers for years but doing nothing to address the issue.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>It was this series of legal filings that prompted Lyft to \u003ca href=\"https://blog.lyft.com/posts/reinforcing-lyfts-commitment-to-safety\">announce added safety measures\u003c/a>, including an emergency call button on its app, new training for drivers and a “smart trip check in” that aims to sense when a trip has “unexplained delays” and pings a rider.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in June 2022, Lyft reached a $25 million settlement to resolve a shareholder class-action lawsuit that claimed the company concealed safety problems, including sexual assaults by drivers, prior to its 2019 initial public offering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft did not respond to NPR’s request for comment or updated data on driver and user safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://assets.ctfassets.net/q8mvene1wzq4/4t8IQ1XZ3dhEzYRKOzUMid/e1d2a6094ac15e4c2fd7a2462675850b/Community_Safety_Report_Appendix.pdf\">2021 community safety report (PDF)\u003c/a> issued by the company, revealed that more than 4,000 people were assaulted during Lyft rides from 2017–2019. Of those, 320 were attacks of “attempted non-consensual sexual penetration” and 360 were assaults involving “non-consensual sexual penetration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report included 10 fatal assaults from 2017 through 2019, “involving an individual using the Lyft platform.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, the company said that while grim, statistically the numbers are minuscule given the millions of rides offered each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A more recent \u003ca href=\"https://uber.app.box.com/s/vkx4zgwy6sxx2t2618520xt35rix022h?uclick_id=caa301b1-9f51-4a99-ac42-585420161ed5\">analysis \u003c/a>from Uber showed that company received 3,824 reports of sexual assault and misconduct from 2019 to 2020. According to Uber, riders were the accused party in 43% of the incidents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Human Rights Campaign chief of staff, Jay Brown called the new feature an inclusive product that’s coming “at a time when so many companies are shying away from explicit inclusion of transgender and non-binary people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brown added: “When rideshare is better for these folks, it’s better for everyone, and we at HRC stand behind that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">npr.org\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>After a California appeals court \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/13/california-court-lets-gig-companies-keep-treating-workers-as-contractors-00086898\">upheld most of Proposition 22\u003c/a> last week, it’s widely expected the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will appeal to the state Supreme Court. That’s even though the union says it’s still considering its options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"More California Coverage\" tag=\"california\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, wrote in an email to KQED, “Drivers have always led this movement, and we will follow their lead as we consider all options — whether that’s seeking review from the California Supreme Court — to ensure that rideshare drivers and delivery workers have access to the same rights and protections afforded to other workers in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2020/general/pdf/topl-prop22.pdf\">Prop. 22 (PDF)\u003c/a> is widely perceived as a major carve-out of California labor law, allowing Uber, Lyft and similar businesses to classify their drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees. A lower court ruling \u003ca href=\"https://www.marketwatch.com/story/judge-shoots-down-landmark-law-that-kept-uber-and-lyft-drivers-from-being-employees-11629513964\">found the law unconstitutional\u003c/a>. But the \u003ca href=\"https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A163655.PDF\">two-judge majority on the state appeals panel disagreed (PDF)\u003c/a>, arguing state law has never provided generous labor protections to “all potentially eligible wage workers” in California. There are, for instance, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11939848/a-legacy-of-slavery-for-domestic-workers-californias-new-safety-guidelines-are-long-overdue-say-advocates\">long-standing carve-outs for domestic and agricultural workers\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rideshare industry reaction exultant\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In a statement following the release of the decision, \u003ca href=\"https://www.lyft.com/blog/posts/lyft-statement-on-california-court-of-appeal-prop-22-decision\">Lyft officials wrote in a blog post\u003c/a>, “We are pleased that the court upheld the democratic will of the voters … We are excited to continue operating our service with no changes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944379\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11944379\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A closeup shot of a black vehicle with a pink Lyft sticker and a black and white Uber sticker on the left side of its windshield. The vehicle sits idle waiting to pick up a customer.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Proposition 22 allows gig companies such as Uber and Lyft to classify their drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees. \u003ccite>(Ericka Cruz Guevarra/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Uber’s chief legal officer, Tony West, wrote in an email to KQED, “Across the state, drivers and couriers have said they are happy with Prop 22, which affords them new benefits while preserving the unique flexibility of app-based work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco did invalidate Prop. 22’s most \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/post-it/2020/10/california-amendment-threshold-proposition-22/\">controversial provision\u003c/a>, one that required a close-to-impossible seven-eighths’ vote of the Legislature to pass any bills that modify Prop. 22. But experts don’t expect Uber or Lyft to appeal, lest they risk the possibility the California Supreme Court agrees with the lower court ruling, and/or strike down all of Prop. 22.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanford labor law professor William Gould, who served as chair of the National Labor Relations Board from 1994 to 1998, wrote in an email to KQED that he thinks it’s “more than likely that the California Supreme Court will reverse. Should it not do so, the Biden administration’s new wage and hour rule on who is an employee preempts state law and, if drawn inconsistently with Proposition 22, will trump it constitutionally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a separate but related decision, a unanimous 9th Circuit panel \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/legal/ubers-challenge-calif-contractor-law-revived-by-us-appeals-court-2023-03-17/\">reinstated Uber and Postmates’ constitutional claim\u003c/a> against California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/ab5\">Assembly Bill 5\u003c/a> on Friday. The San Francisco-based appeals panel said the state must face claims that the law is unconstitutional because it singles out app-based transportation businesses while exempting many other industries from the need to justify why they classify some workers as contractors rather than employees.[aside label=\"More on Assembly Bill 5\" tag=\"ab5\"]Already, the success of Prop. 22 with California voters at the ballot box in 2020 has inspired a similar measure on the 2024 ballot, one that would \u003ca href=\"https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ccrov/2023/january/23012jh.pdf\">overturn a new law (PDF)\u003c/a> designed to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/ca-divide-workplace/2022/08/fast-food-workers/\">improve wages and working conditions in fast food\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No question there are a lot of minimum labor law standards in California, and I understand why employers find them onerous to comply with, not to mention expensive,” said UC Berkeley law professor Catherine Fisk, who wrote a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of a group of California labor and employment law professors opposed to Prop. 22. She added that she’s “disappointed” by the appeals court decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think it’s really in the public’s best interest to have such a large group of workers who are carved out of the minimum protections of state law. That exists not only to benefit the workers and their families, but the communities that are affected by abject poverty,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Happy to be independent, unhappy about the pay\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Scott from LA County,” who drives for Uber, says he didn’t even vote in 2020 when the measure was on the ballot. KQED is not sharing Scott’s last name because because he fears the company might retaliate against him for speaking to KQED; he is unaffiliated with either the SEIU or the industry-backed \u003ca href=\"https://protectdriversandservices.com/about/our-coalition/\">Protect App-Based Drivers and Services coalition\u003c/a> (PADS).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was a little nonchalant about Prop. 22 because I was just getting started, and things were surprisingly good back then,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott admitted his opinion changed after Prop. 22 took effect the following January, and he watched the measure’s promised 120% of minimum wage become a ceiling for him, rather than a floor. In other words, he makes about $18.60 an hour these days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11944396\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-scaled.jpg\" alt='A man stands with his back to the camera wearing a black T-shirt with yellow writing that reads \"Drivers Union Now.\" In the background, two people hold a large white sign that reads, \"Gig Workers Are Essential.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gig workers, including rideshare and delivery drivers, with We Drive Progress and Gig Workers Rising demonstrate outside DoorDash headquarters in San Francisco on Nov. 3, 2021, demanding fair pay and employee rights. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“But that’s not what independent contractors got into Uber for, to make 120% of minimum wage,” he said. “In the past, I was making $30, $40, $50 an hour.”[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Scott, rideshare driver\"]‘There’s no reward for loyalty. You just kind of always feel like you’re replaceable.’[/pullquote]That said, Scott still loves choosing his own hours, 20 to 25 a week, and he’s not really bothered by the fact that independent contractors, as defined by Prop. 22, don’t have the same protections as employees under California law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said what bothers him most, aside from making less money, is his sense that the company is driving out gig workers like him — who remember the days before Prop. 22 and can see the work is becoming less profitable — and relying on high turnover to pull in new people who can’t remember when drivers made more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no reward for loyalty. You just kind of always feel like you’re replaceable,” Scott said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Side hustle or livelihood?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The percentage of rideshare drivers who are full time versus part time has been a point of contention between union-friendly Democratic lawmakers in California and the rideshare companies. A report published last year by UC Riverside’s Center for Economic Forecasting and Development for the industry-backed drivers’ coalition found “\u003ca href=\"https://protectdriversandservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/UCR_CEFD_CA_AppDrivers_Analysis_2_17_2022-41.pdf\">only 23% of drivers report working with platforms on what would conventionally be considered a full-time basis\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944401\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11944401\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1704\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A demonstrator holds a sign that says ‘Prop 22 Is Unconstitutional’ during a protest outside DoorDash headquarters in San Francisco on Nov. 3, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a recent talk before The Economic Club of Chicago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2131&v=HFKrv9Ub9WI&feature=youtu.be\">Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the weakening economy is bringing more drivers — he calls them “earners” — online\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“About 70% of our earners are saying inflation is actually one of the reasons why they’re coming on to the platform, because they can earn flexibly. And they can, you know, earn another $500 a week for groceries or whatever else they need to live,” Khosrowshahi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If drivers are only making a little extra money with the platforms versus relying on the driving for their livelihoods, labor lawyers say, it’s easier for gig companies to argue they aren’t exploiting the drivers by refusing to provide them the benefits employees would receive — or exploiting taxpayers by socializing the costs drivers can’t afford to cover on their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We saw this during the pandemic, right after Proposition 22 was enacted,” said Fisk, of UC Berkeley. “Every other employer had paid into the unemployment system. So when their workers became unemployed, they could file a claim for unemployment and be compensated. Uber and Lyft exempted themselves from the unemployment system. Their drivers were left penniless. So what did the companies say? ‘Congress has created a system for independent contractors. You should apply to that.’ Who was paying for that? \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11812496/uber-and-lyft-arent-paying-for-drivers-unemployment-you-are-confirms-newsom\">The taxpayers\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, wrote in an email to KQED, “Drivers have always led this movement, and we will follow their lead as we consider all options — whether that’s seeking review from the California Supreme Court — to ensure that rideshare drivers and delivery workers have access to the same rights and protections afforded to other workers in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2020/general/pdf/topl-prop22.pdf\">Prop. 22 (PDF)\u003c/a> is widely perceived as a major carve-out of California labor law, allowing Uber, Lyft and similar businesses to classify their drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees. A lower court ruling \u003ca href=\"https://www.marketwatch.com/story/judge-shoots-down-landmark-law-that-kept-uber-and-lyft-drivers-from-being-employees-11629513964\">found the law unconstitutional\u003c/a>. But the \u003ca href=\"https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A163655.PDF\">two-judge majority on the state appeals panel disagreed (PDF)\u003c/a>, arguing state law has never provided generous labor protections to “all potentially eligible wage workers” in California. There are, for instance, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11939848/a-legacy-of-slavery-for-domestic-workers-californias-new-safety-guidelines-are-long-overdue-say-advocates\">long-standing carve-outs for domestic and agricultural workers\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rideshare industry reaction exultant\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In a statement following the release of the decision, \u003ca href=\"https://www.lyft.com/blog/posts/lyft-statement-on-california-court-of-appeal-prop-22-decision\">Lyft officials wrote in a blog post\u003c/a>, “We are pleased that the court upheld the democratic will of the voters … We are excited to continue operating our service with no changes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944379\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11944379\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A closeup shot of a black vehicle with a pink Lyft sticker and a black and white Uber sticker on the left side of its windshield. The vehicle sits idle waiting to pick up a customer.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS16535_IMG_0443.JPG-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Proposition 22 allows gig companies such as Uber and Lyft to classify their drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees. \u003ccite>(Ericka Cruz Guevarra/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Uber’s chief legal officer, Tony West, wrote in an email to KQED, “Across the state, drivers and couriers have said they are happy with Prop 22, which affords them new benefits while preserving the unique flexibility of app-based work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco did invalidate Prop. 22’s most \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/post-it/2020/10/california-amendment-threshold-proposition-22/\">controversial provision\u003c/a>, one that required a close-to-impossible seven-eighths’ vote of the Legislature to pass any bills that modify Prop. 22. But experts don’t expect Uber or Lyft to appeal, lest they risk the possibility the California Supreme Court agrees with the lower court ruling, and/or strike down all of Prop. 22.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanford labor law professor William Gould, who served as chair of the National Labor Relations Board from 1994 to 1998, wrote in an email to KQED that he thinks it’s “more than likely that the California Supreme Court will reverse. Should it not do so, the Biden administration’s new wage and hour rule on who is an employee preempts state law and, if drawn inconsistently with Proposition 22, will trump it constitutionally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a separate but related decision, a unanimous 9th Circuit panel \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/legal/ubers-challenge-calif-contractor-law-revived-by-us-appeals-court-2023-03-17/\">reinstated Uber and Postmates’ constitutional claim\u003c/a> against California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/ab5\">Assembly Bill 5\u003c/a> on Friday. The San Francisco-based appeals panel said the state must face claims that the law is unconstitutional because it singles out app-based transportation businesses while exempting many other industries from the need to justify why they classify some workers as contractors rather than employees.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Already, the success of Prop. 22 with California voters at the ballot box in 2020 has inspired a similar measure on the 2024 ballot, one that would \u003ca href=\"https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ccrov/2023/january/23012jh.pdf\">overturn a new law (PDF)\u003c/a> designed to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/ca-divide-workplace/2022/08/fast-food-workers/\">improve wages and working conditions in fast food\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No question there are a lot of minimum labor law standards in California, and I understand why employers find them onerous to comply with, not to mention expensive,” said UC Berkeley law professor Catherine Fisk, who wrote a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of a group of California labor and employment law professors opposed to Prop. 22. She added that she’s “disappointed” by the appeals court decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think it’s really in the public’s best interest to have such a large group of workers who are carved out of the minimum protections of state law. That exists not only to benefit the workers and their families, but the communities that are affected by abject poverty,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Happy to be independent, unhappy about the pay\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Scott from LA County,” who drives for Uber, says he didn’t even vote in 2020 when the measure was on the ballot. KQED is not sharing Scott’s last name because because he fears the company might retaliate against him for speaking to KQED; he is unaffiliated with either the SEIU or the industry-backed \u003ca href=\"https://protectdriversandservices.com/about/our-coalition/\">Protect App-Based Drivers and Services coalition\u003c/a> (PADS).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was a little nonchalant about Prop. 22 because I was just getting started, and things were surprisingly good back then,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott admitted his opinion changed after Prop. 22 took effect the following January, and he watched the measure’s promised 120% of minimum wage become a ceiling for him, rather than a floor. In other words, he makes about $18.60 an hour these days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11944396\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-scaled.jpg\" alt='A man stands with his back to the camera wearing a black T-shirt with yellow writing that reads \"Drivers Union Now.\" In the background, two people hold a large white sign that reads, \"Gig Workers Are Essential.\"' width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52363_004_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gig workers, including rideshare and delivery drivers, with We Drive Progress and Gig Workers Rising demonstrate outside DoorDash headquarters in San Francisco on Nov. 3, 2021, demanding fair pay and employee rights. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“But that’s not what independent contractors got into Uber for, to make 120% of minimum wage,” he said. “In the past, I was making $30, $40, $50 an hour.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘There’s no reward for loyalty. You just kind of always feel like you’re replaceable.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>That said, Scott still loves choosing his own hours, 20 to 25 a week, and he’s not really bothered by the fact that independent contractors, as defined by Prop. 22, don’t have the same protections as employees under California law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said what bothers him most, aside from making less money, is his sense that the company is driving out gig workers like him — who remember the days before Prop. 22 and can see the work is becoming less profitable — and relying on high turnover to pull in new people who can’t remember when drivers made more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no reward for loyalty. You just kind of always feel like you’re replaceable,” Scott said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Side hustle or livelihood?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The percentage of rideshare drivers who are full time versus part time has been a point of contention between union-friendly Democratic lawmakers in California and the rideshare companies. A report published last year by UC Riverside’s Center for Economic Forecasting and Development for the industry-backed drivers’ coalition found “\u003ca href=\"https://protectdriversandservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/UCR_CEFD_CA_AppDrivers_Analysis_2_17_2022-41.pdf\">only 23% of drivers report working with platforms on what would conventionally be considered a full-time basis\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11944401\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11944401\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1704\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS52369_011_SanFrancisco_GigWorkerProtest_11032021-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A demonstrator holds a sign that says ‘Prop 22 Is Unconstitutional’ during a protest outside DoorDash headquarters in San Francisco on Nov. 3, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a recent talk before The Economic Club of Chicago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2131&v=HFKrv9Ub9WI&feature=youtu.be\">Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the weakening economy is bringing more drivers — he calls them “earners” — online\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“About 70% of our earners are saying inflation is actually one of the reasons why they’re coming on to the platform, because they can earn flexibly. And they can, you know, earn another $500 a week for groceries or whatever else they need to live,” Khosrowshahi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If drivers are only making a little extra money with the platforms versus relying on the driving for their livelihoods, labor lawyers say, it’s easier for gig companies to argue they aren’t exploiting the drivers by refusing to provide them the benefits employees would receive — or exploiting taxpayers by socializing the costs drivers can’t afford to cover on their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We saw this during the pandemic, right after Proposition 22 was enacted,” said Fisk, of UC Berkeley. “Every other employer had paid into the unemployment system. So when their workers became unemployed, they could file a claim for unemployment and be compensated. Uber and Lyft exempted themselves from the unemployment system. Their drivers were left penniless. So what did the companies say? ‘Congress has created a system for independent contractors. You should apply to that.’ Who was paying for that? \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11812496/uber-and-lyft-arent-paying-for-drivers-unemployment-you-are-confirms-newsom\">The taxpayers\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Court Upholds Prop. 22 in Big Win for Gig Firms Like Lyft and Uber",
"headTitle": "CALmatters | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>In the winding story of California’s gig-worker laws, another chapter has come to a close.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Justices in a California court of appeals on Monday ruled that Proposition 22 — a 2020 ballot measure that allowed Uber, Lyft and other \"gig\" companies to classify their workers as independent contractors rather than employees — is largely constitutional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The distinction between employees and contractors is important: Unlike independent contractors, employees have the right to a host of benefits and protections like minimum wage, sick leave and family leave, unemployment and disability benefits, and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three court of appeals judges in San Francisco, who heard oral arguments in the case in December, disagreed with two of the three points of a lower court's ruling that had largely \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-08-20/prop-22-unconstitutional\">invalidated Prop. 22\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the judges on Monday did agree with the lower court that a clause in the measure — requiring collective bargaining to occur through an amendment to the proposition — “violates separation of powers principles,” and ordered it be removed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even so, the appeals court ruling leaves most of Prop. 22 intact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the measure were quick to celebrate the decision, with the Protect App-Based Drivers and Services coalition, which includes Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart, calling it “a victory for the nearly 1.4 million drivers” in California.[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"proposition-22\"]“Voters knew what they were voting on,” said Jennifer Barrera, president of the California Chamber of Commerce. “They wanted to maintain the flexibility for these gig workers and provide them the opportunity to do this work. And I think that’s ultimately what the judge did — is to uphold that flexibility.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while this chapter has drawn to a close, the story probably isn’t over. The Service Employees International Union is challenging the constitutionality of the measure and may appeal the ruling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Drivers have always led this movement, and we will follow their lead as we consider all options — including seeking review from the [California] Supreme Court — to ensure that gig drivers and delivery workers have access to the same rights and protections afforded to other workers in California,” Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, an umbrella organization for labor unions, which opposed Prop. 22, lambasted the ruling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today the Appeals Court chose to stand with powerful corporations over working people, allowing companies to buy their way out of our state’s labor laws and undermine our state constitution,” she said in a statement. “Our system is broken. It would be an understatement to say we are disappointed by this decision.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview earlier this month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/catherine-fisk/\">UC Berkeley Law professor Catherine Fisk\u003c/a> said she’d be “stunned” if whichever side lost didn’t appeal the decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s just too much money at stake — for both sides,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judicial system moves slowly, so it could be months before the California Supreme Court decides on whether or not to hear an appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The case has ramifications beyond this initiative, said \u003ca href=\"https://www.nmgovlaw.com/team/kurt-oneto/\">Kurt Oneto, an attorney with Nielsen Merksamer\u003c/a>, the firm representing the coalition of gig companies, and is defending the ballot measure in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The challenges to the initiative “would drastically undercut and restrain the initiative power of California voters,” he told CalMatters earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But ultimately at stake are the kinds of pay, benefits and legal protections that drivers are entitled to, said \u003ca href=\"https://altshulerberzon.com/attorneys/stacey-leyton/\">Stacey Leyton, attorney with Altshuler Berzon\u003c/a>, the law firm representing SEIU and workers in challenging the ballot measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the effects will extend beyond drivers, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When companies exploit their workers and misclassify their workers, it has the effect of harming all workers,” said Leyton.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How did we get here?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California’s battle over the classification of workers began in 2018, when the state Supreme Court issued a ruling that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2018/08/companies-beg-for-relief-from-pro-labor-gig-worker-ruling/\">established a new standard for who can be counted as an independent contractor\u003c/a>. That decision spurred a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2019/09/whos-in-whos-out-of-ab-5/\">new state law\u003c/a> that classified workers in many sectors — including truckers, commercial janitors, nail salon workers, physical therapists and gig economy workers — as employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After failing to get the ride-share industry exempted from the new law, Uber and Lyft upped the ante, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2019-08-29/ab5-uber-lyft-newsom-lorena-gonzalez-ballot-tony-west\">threatening to write a ballot measure\u003c/a> to do so unless they could negotiate another deal. They argued that changing the employment status of drivers would reduce workers’ flexibility and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Open-Forum-Uber-Lyft-ready-to-do-our-part-for-13969843.php?\">pose a risk to our businesses\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, the companies forged ahead with Prop. 22, which became a pitched battle between labor and business, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/projects/props-california-2020-election-money/\">breaking state campaign finance records\u003c/a> in the process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/election-2020-guide/proposition-22-gig-workers-ab-5/\">classifying workers as independent contractors\u003c/a>, the measure offered gig workers \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=22&year=2020\">certain incentives\u003c/a>, in lieu of standard employee benefits, including 120% of minimum wage for “active” driving time (but not time waiting), a partial health care subsidy for those who clocked enough hours per week, and on-the-job injury coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/election-2020-guide/proposition-22-gig-workers-ab-5/\">measure passed\u003c/a> with 58% of the vote in November 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after Prop. 22 passed, SEIU and a group of drivers mounted a \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2021-01-12/prop-22-faces-first-legal-challenge-from-ride-share-drivers-seiu\">legal challenge\u003c/a>, arguing that it violated California’s constitution. Their case was eventually heard by a judge in Alameda County Superior Court, who in 2021 struck down \u003ca href=\"https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/c5/f5/7bba477c4a839d1edd9f5b5a75e9/prop-22-alameda-superior-ct.%208-20-21.pdf\">Prop. 22 (PDF)\u003c/a> as unconstitutional. But attorneys representing the state and the coalition representing gig companies appealed that decision, sending it to the appeals court.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-what-s-happened-since-prop-22-went-into-effect\">What's happened since Prop. 22 went into effect\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What has changed — for better or worse — since the measure took effect depends somewhat on who you ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jose Pineda, a driver for DoorDash in Northridge who was referred to CalMatters by the industry coalition, says his hourly pay has increased from about $23–$25 (before costs) to $27–$30. After switching from Medi-Cal to an insurance plan through Covered California, he receives a health stipend of about $75 every two weeks, he said. He supported Prop. 22, and said, “I think it’s good. I think we need it. I mean, what else is out there?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contrast that with the experience of Daryush Khodadadi-Mobarakeh, who was referred to CalMatters by SEIU. Khodadadi-Mobarakeh, who drives 35 to 40 hours a week for several companies, including Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, and is a leader with the California Gig Workers Union, said his pay has consistently decreased since he began working in 2014, and particularly after Prop. 22 went into effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now it takes him about 12 hours to make the same amount he used to earn in eight hours before Prop. 22, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How drivers’ wages have been affected by Prop. 22 depends in part on how working hours and expenses are calculated (and who's doing the research). A \u003ca href=\"https://protectdriversandservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/UCR_CEFD_CA_AppDrivers_Analysis_2_17_2022-41.pdf\">study paid for by the industry coalition \u003c/a>and conducted by researchers at UC Riverside found that in late 2021, drivers for DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft and Uber earned $34.46 in gross pay per hour of “engaged” time — the time between accepting a ride or delivery and dropping off the order or rider. That was up from $27.34 in late 2019, before the measure passed. Those wages don’t account for the time workers spend waiting between rides, or costs like fuel, car maintenance and insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a \u003ca href=\"https://nationalequityatlas.org/prop22-paystudy\">study of Uber and Lyft drivers\u003c/a> conducted by National Equity Atlas, in partnership with Rideshare Drivers United, which opposed Prop. 22, found that drivers on average earned $26.30 in gross wages per hour in late 2021. But the study then calculated the cost of employee benefits that gig workers don't receive — including reimbursement for total miles driven and employer contributions to programs including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and paid sick time. When figured into the equation, drivers' net wages dropped to $6.20 per hour, the study found.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the winding story of California’s gig-worker laws, another chapter has come to a close.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Justices in a California court of appeals on Monday ruled that Proposition 22 — a 2020 ballot measure that allowed Uber, Lyft and other \"gig\" companies to classify their workers as independent contractors rather than employees — is largely constitutional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The distinction between employees and contractors is important: Unlike independent contractors, employees have the right to a host of benefits and protections like minimum wage, sick leave and family leave, unemployment and disability benefits, and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three court of appeals judges in San Francisco, who heard oral arguments in the case in December, disagreed with two of the three points of a lower court's ruling that had largely \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-08-20/prop-22-unconstitutional\">invalidated Prop. 22\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the judges on Monday did agree with the lower court that a clause in the measure — requiring collective bargaining to occur through an amendment to the proposition — “violates separation of powers principles,” and ordered it be removed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even so, the appeals court ruling leaves most of Prop. 22 intact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the measure were quick to celebrate the decision, with the Protect App-Based Drivers and Services coalition, which includes Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart, calling it “a victory for the nearly 1.4 million drivers” in California.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Voters knew what they were voting on,” said Jennifer Barrera, president of the California Chamber of Commerce. “They wanted to maintain the flexibility for these gig workers and provide them the opportunity to do this work. And I think that’s ultimately what the judge did — is to uphold that flexibility.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while this chapter has drawn to a close, the story probably isn’t over. The Service Employees International Union is challenging the constitutionality of the measure and may appeal the ruling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Drivers have always led this movement, and we will follow their lead as we consider all options — including seeking review from the [California] Supreme Court — to ensure that gig drivers and delivery workers have access to the same rights and protections afforded to other workers in California,” Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, an umbrella organization for labor unions, which opposed Prop. 22, lambasted the ruling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today the Appeals Court chose to stand with powerful corporations over working people, allowing companies to buy their way out of our state’s labor laws and undermine our state constitution,” she said in a statement. “Our system is broken. It would be an understatement to say we are disappointed by this decision.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview earlier this month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/catherine-fisk/\">UC Berkeley Law professor Catherine Fisk\u003c/a> said she’d be “stunned” if whichever side lost didn’t appeal the decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s just too much money at stake — for both sides,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judicial system moves slowly, so it could be months before the California Supreme Court decides on whether or not to hear an appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The case has ramifications beyond this initiative, said \u003ca href=\"https://www.nmgovlaw.com/team/kurt-oneto/\">Kurt Oneto, an attorney with Nielsen Merksamer\u003c/a>, the firm representing the coalition of gig companies, and is defending the ballot measure in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The challenges to the initiative “would drastically undercut and restrain the initiative power of California voters,” he told CalMatters earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But ultimately at stake are the kinds of pay, benefits and legal protections that drivers are entitled to, said \u003ca href=\"https://altshulerberzon.com/attorneys/stacey-leyton/\">Stacey Leyton, attorney with Altshuler Berzon\u003c/a>, the law firm representing SEIU and workers in challenging the ballot measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the effects will extend beyond drivers, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When companies exploit their workers and misclassify their workers, it has the effect of harming all workers,” said Leyton.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How did we get here?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California’s battle over the classification of workers began in 2018, when the state Supreme Court issued a ruling that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2018/08/companies-beg-for-relief-from-pro-labor-gig-worker-ruling/\">established a new standard for who can be counted as an independent contractor\u003c/a>. That decision spurred a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2019/09/whos-in-whos-out-of-ab-5/\">new state law\u003c/a> that classified workers in many sectors — including truckers, commercial janitors, nail salon workers, physical therapists and gig economy workers — as employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After failing to get the ride-share industry exempted from the new law, Uber and Lyft upped the ante, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2019-08-29/ab5-uber-lyft-newsom-lorena-gonzalez-ballot-tony-west\">threatening to write a ballot measure\u003c/a> to do so unless they could negotiate another deal. They argued that changing the employment status of drivers would reduce workers’ flexibility and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Open-Forum-Uber-Lyft-ready-to-do-our-part-for-13969843.php?\">pose a risk to our businesses\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, the companies forged ahead with Prop. 22, which became a pitched battle between labor and business, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/projects/props-california-2020-election-money/\">breaking state campaign finance records\u003c/a> in the process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/election-2020-guide/proposition-22-gig-workers-ab-5/\">classifying workers as independent contractors\u003c/a>, the measure offered gig workers \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=22&year=2020\">certain incentives\u003c/a>, in lieu of standard employee benefits, including 120% of minimum wage for “active” driving time (but not time waiting), a partial health care subsidy for those who clocked enough hours per week, and on-the-job injury coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/election-2020-guide/proposition-22-gig-workers-ab-5/\">measure passed\u003c/a> with 58% of the vote in November 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortly after Prop. 22 passed, SEIU and a group of drivers mounted a \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2021-01-12/prop-22-faces-first-legal-challenge-from-ride-share-drivers-seiu\">legal challenge\u003c/a>, arguing that it violated California’s constitution. Their case was eventually heard by a judge in Alameda County Superior Court, who in 2021 struck down \u003ca href=\"https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/c5/f5/7bba477c4a839d1edd9f5b5a75e9/prop-22-alameda-superior-ct.%208-20-21.pdf\">Prop. 22 (PDF)\u003c/a> as unconstitutional. But attorneys representing the state and the coalition representing gig companies appealed that decision, sending it to the appeals court.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-what-s-happened-since-prop-22-went-into-effect\">What's happened since Prop. 22 went into effect\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What has changed — for better or worse — since the measure took effect depends somewhat on who you ask.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jose Pineda, a driver for DoorDash in Northridge who was referred to CalMatters by the industry coalition, says his hourly pay has increased from about $23–$25 (before costs) to $27–$30. After switching from Medi-Cal to an insurance plan through Covered California, he receives a health stipend of about $75 every two weeks, he said. He supported Prop. 22, and said, “I think it’s good. I think we need it. I mean, what else is out there?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contrast that with the experience of Daryush Khodadadi-Mobarakeh, who was referred to CalMatters by SEIU. Khodadadi-Mobarakeh, who drives 35 to 40 hours a week for several companies, including Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, and is a leader with the California Gig Workers Union, said his pay has consistently decreased since he began working in 2014, and particularly after Prop. 22 went into effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now it takes him about 12 hours to make the same amount he used to earn in eight hours before Prop. 22, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How drivers’ wages have been affected by Prop. 22 depends in part on how working hours and expenses are calculated (and who's doing the research). A \u003ca href=\"https://protectdriversandservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/UCR_CEFD_CA_AppDrivers_Analysis_2_17_2022-41.pdf\">study paid for by the industry coalition \u003c/a>and conducted by researchers at UC Riverside found that in late 2021, drivers for DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft and Uber earned $34.46 in gross pay per hour of “engaged” time — the time between accepting a ride or delivery and dropping off the order or rider. That was up from $27.34 in late 2019, before the measure passed. Those wages don’t account for the time workers spend waiting between rides, or costs like fuel, car maintenance and insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a \u003ca href=\"https://nationalequityatlas.org/prop22-paystudy\">study of Uber and Lyft drivers\u003c/a> conducted by National Equity Atlas, in partnership with Rideshare Drivers United, which opposed Prop. 22, found that drivers on average earned $26.30 in gross wages per hour in late 2021. But the study then calculated the cost of employee benefits that gig workers don't receive — including reimbursement for total miles driven and employer contributions to programs including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and paid sick time. When figured into the equation, drivers' net wages dropped to $6.20 per hour, the study found.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California voters decisively rejected a bid to raise billions of dollars for the state’s electric-vehicle infrastructure by increasing income taxes on its wealthiest residents — a measure staunchly opposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and a coalition of business groups and billionaires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proposition 30 would have levied an additional 1.75% personal income tax on individual Californians or married couples who make more than $2 million a year, raising up to an estimated $5 billion annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state would have been required to spend 80% of that revenue on electric-vehicle rebates and on the installation of charging stations in public places and residences. The remaining funds would have gone toward wildfire mitigation efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Transportation is the largest source of planet-warming emissions in California, accounting for roughly 40%. Wildfires, meanwhile, are spewing tens of millions of tons of carbon into the air as they burn up California’s forests, threatening to set back the state’s progress on meeting its climate goals.[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"electric-vehicles\"]The measure’s defeat marks a win for Newsom, who campaigned against it despite his administration’s moves to ban the sale of most new gas-powered cars next decade. He branded it a taxpayer-funded giveaway to rideshare companies, which, under California regulations, must ensure that nearly all trips booked through their services are zero-emission by 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California voters decisively rejected this poorly crafted and unnecessary tax hike,” the No campaign said in a statement. “The fact is Proposition 30 was a solution to an issue the state is already addressing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmental groups who backed Proposition 30 said it was a vital investment in the fight against climate change and bad air quality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://electionresults.sos.ca.gov/returns/ballot-measures\">In early returns\u003c/a>, the measure had garnered just over 40% support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So little was actually discussed about the actual policy and so much was talked about the money,” said Steven Maviglio, spokesperson for the Yes campaign. “I think the early indicators and the polling showed that Californians really wanted some bold climate action, and that’s what Prop. 30 represented. Unfortunately, we had a governor who rallied against all his own programs that would be funded, for whatever reason. Still unclear.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Notably, Newsom’s opposition split him from the California Democratic Party. He instead sided with conservatives, anti-tax and business groups and billionaires who spent millions to defeat it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom argued that Proposition 30 would disrupt the state’s finances and that it was unnecessary in California, which has already committed billions from its record budget surplus to funding electric-vehicle initiatives. He called the measure a corporate tax grab on the part of Lyft, the largest donor to the Yes campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Support among likely voters for the measure started out high and over the summer hovered well above the 50% support it needed to pass, according to polls. But Newsom’s aggressive opposition to it found an audience with voters and chiseled away at that advantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Newsom’s direction earlier this year, California air regulators adopted a ban on the sale of new cars that run solely on gasoline, starting in 2035. Car companies would have to sell vehicles powered by hydrogen or batteries, or hybrids that run on a gas-battery combo. People could still drive their gas-powered cars or buy used ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom noted his administration has already dedicated $10 billion over the next six years to boost electric transportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Backers of the measure, including most major environmental groups, argued the state needs a dedicated, robust source of funding to set up infrastructure that can handle more plug-in cars and help Californians of all income levels buy them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, about 18% of new car sales in California have been for fully electric or hybrid cars, according to Newsom’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That will have to double by 2026 to meet new state mandates for car sales.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 2045, the state wants to be “carbon neutral,” which means it wouldn’t put any emissions into the air that it can’t remove. That will require a massive reduction in emissions from vehicles and other sources, as well as the buildup of technologies that can capture carbon as it is emitted, or pull it from the air and store it underground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This story includes reporting from The Associated Press.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California voters decisively rejected a bid to raise billions of dollars for the state’s electric-vehicle infrastructure by increasing income taxes on its wealthiest residents — a measure staunchly opposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and a coalition of business groups and billionaires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proposition 30 would have levied an additional 1.75% personal income tax on individual Californians or married couples who make more than $2 million a year, raising up to an estimated $5 billion annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state would have been required to spend 80% of that revenue on electric-vehicle rebates and on the installation of charging stations in public places and residences. The remaining funds would have gone toward wildfire mitigation efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Transportation is the largest source of planet-warming emissions in California, accounting for roughly 40%. Wildfires, meanwhile, are spewing tens of millions of tons of carbon into the air as they burn up California’s forests, threatening to set back the state’s progress on meeting its climate goals.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The measure’s defeat marks a win for Newsom, who campaigned against it despite his administration’s moves to ban the sale of most new gas-powered cars next decade. He branded it a taxpayer-funded giveaway to rideshare companies, which, under California regulations, must ensure that nearly all trips booked through their services are zero-emission by 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California voters decisively rejected this poorly crafted and unnecessary tax hike,” the No campaign said in a statement. “The fact is Proposition 30 was a solution to an issue the state is already addressing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmental groups who backed Proposition 30 said it was a vital investment in the fight against climate change and bad air quality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://electionresults.sos.ca.gov/returns/ballot-measures\">In early returns\u003c/a>, the measure had garnered just over 40% support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So little was actually discussed about the actual policy and so much was talked about the money,” said Steven Maviglio, spokesperson for the Yes campaign. “I think the early indicators and the polling showed that Californians really wanted some bold climate action, and that’s what Prop. 30 represented. Unfortunately, we had a governor who rallied against all his own programs that would be funded, for whatever reason. Still unclear.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Notably, Newsom’s opposition split him from the California Democratic Party. He instead sided with conservatives, anti-tax and business groups and billionaires who spent millions to defeat it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom argued that Proposition 30 would disrupt the state’s finances and that it was unnecessary in California, which has already committed billions from its record budget surplus to funding electric-vehicle initiatives. He called the measure a corporate tax grab on the part of Lyft, the largest donor to the Yes campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Support among likely voters for the measure started out high and over the summer hovered well above the 50% support it needed to pass, according to polls. But Newsom’s aggressive opposition to it found an audience with voters and chiseled away at that advantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Newsom’s direction earlier this year, California air regulators adopted a ban on the sale of new cars that run solely on gasoline, starting in 2035. Car companies would have to sell vehicles powered by hydrogen or batteries, or hybrids that run on a gas-battery combo. People could still drive their gas-powered cars or buy used ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom noted his administration has already dedicated $10 billion over the next six years to boost electric transportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Backers of the measure, including most major environmental groups, argued the state needs a dedicated, robust source of funding to set up infrastructure that can handle more plug-in cars and help Californians of all income levels buy them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, about 18% of new car sales in California have been for fully electric or hybrid cars, according to Newsom’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That will have to double by 2026 to meet new state mandates for car sales.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 2045, the state wants to be “carbon neutral,” which means it wouldn’t put any emissions into the air that it can’t remove. That will require a massive reduction in emissions from vehicles and other sources, as well as the buildup of technologies that can capture carbon as it is emitted, or pull it from the air and store it underground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This story includes reporting from The Associated Press.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Dozens of ride-hailing and delivery drivers rallied Wednesday outside of Uber’s headquarters in San Francisco, calling on the company and others that employ them like Lyft and DoorDash to recognize a new statewide gig workers union that seeks better wages and protections in the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The protesters, including some who traveled from Los Angeles, held signs that read “We deserve job security” and “We can’t survive on $6.20 per hour” as they announced the California Gig Workers Union. Later, they marched to the offices of Lyft and DoorDash in the Mission Bay neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber and Lyft driver Hector Castellanos said he hopes the new union will lead to benefits for workers like himself, who are labeled independent contractors, whereas companies currently are required only to provide \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">benefits\u003c/span> to employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We deserve basic rights like good health care, workers’ compensation, sick days, vacations,” said Castellanos, 55, from Antioch. “These companies are taking more and more advantage of us. So that’s why I’m here, because I want to fight against this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Democratic Party Chair Honey Mahogany, a candidate in the supervisor race for District 6 encompassing Mission Bay, and District 4 Supervisor Gordon Mar spoke at the event in support of drivers’ organizing efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mar said that the city provided tax breaks and other benefits about a decade ago so start-ups like Uber could grow and get established, and that now those companies should “share the wealth” with their drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are demanding that they give back to San Francisco, that they comply with San Francisco values, and that’s supporting the workers,” he said.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Hector Castellanos, driver for Uber and Lyft\"]‘We deserve basic rights like good health care, workers’ compensation, sick days, vacations … These companies are taking more and more advantage of us. So that’s why I’m here, because I want to fight against this.’[/pullquote]The rally comes during a week when \u003ca href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/11/uber-lyft-doordash-stock-tank-gig-worker-rules/\">Uber, Lyft and DoorDash stock prices\u003c/a> plunged after the federal government unveiled proposed rules that \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/business/economy/biden-gig-workers-contractors-employees.html?login=smartlock&auth=login-smartlock\">could make it easier\u003c/a> for gig drivers, as well as millions of construction and home care workers, to be treated as employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed changes aim to “combat misclassification,” which also \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/WHD/WHD20221011-0\">hurts the economy\u003c/a>, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have seen in many cases that employers misclassify their employees as independent contractors, particularly among our nation’s most vulnerable workers,” wrote Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “Misclassification deprives workers of their federal labor protections, including their right to be paid their full, legally earned wages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An estimated \u003ca href=\"https://ucreconomicforecast.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/UCR_CEFD_CA_AppDrivers_Analysis_2_17_2022.pdf\">1.37 million people worked on at least one ride or delivery\u003c/a> for DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft and Uber platforms in California between 2020 and 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly two years ago, California voters approved a ballot initiative that exempted Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and other app-based businesses from having to treat drivers as employees. Proposition 22 is currently in effect but is being challenged in state court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies, which spent more than $200 million to get that measure passed, say changing how they classify drivers threatens the survival of their businesses. In addition, they argue most drivers prefer to remain as independent contractors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With more than 1 million unfilled traditional jobs and record low unemployment in the state, drivers are still choosing this work because of the earning potential, benefits, independence, and flexibility it provides,” wrote a spokesperson for Lyft. “The special interest groups that claim to support drivers should listen to the vast majority of them who want to keep what they have under Prop 22.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lydia Olson, who owns a consulting business in Sacramento, fears that becoming an employee would mean she could no longer drive for Uber and Lyft, as she has done for the past five years. She worries that the legal challenge to Proposition 22 or changes to federal rules could strip her of her choice to supplement her income when and where she chooses, for as long as she wants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a scary time,” said Olson, 55. “I mean, how would you feel if you knew that the politicians could turn off your ability to work permanently overnight? And there’s nothing you could do about it, because that’s what we are looking at.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Olson said a flexible schedule allows her to care for her husband, who has multiple sclerosis. She estimates she makes $30 an hour in net income as a driver, even with recent increases in gas prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a reason why so many people choose independent contracting and that’s because it works for them, and that’s their choice. And we all know there’s trade-offs,” she said. “So it makes no sense to force us to be employees, because we didn’t choose that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokespeople for Uber, Lyft and DoorDash said Proposition 22 delivered a 120% minimum wage guarantee for drivers, while offering health care subsidies and other benefits. They pointed to a UC Riverside analysis that concluded \u003ca href=\"https://ucreconomicforecast.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/UCR_CEFD_CA_AppDrivers_Analysis_2_17_2022.pdf\">drivers earned $25.17 per active hour\u003c/a> in 2021, not including tips. The study was commissioned by the \u003ca href=\"https://protectdriversandservices.com/about/our-coalition/\">Protect App-Based Drivers and Services\u003c/a> coalition, of which Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart are members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, a separate report authored by researchers at PolicyLink and Rideshare Drivers United last month \u003ca href=\"https://nationalequityatlas.org/prop22-paystudy\">estimated drastically lower earnings\u003c/a> for these gig workers. According to that study, typical rideshare drivers in California are taking home just $6.20 an hour, in part because they are not paid for the total time they are working.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In statements, Uber, Lyft and DoorDash spokespeople slammed those findings as “deeply flawed,” criticizing the small sample used for the analysis, which was based on data from 3,020 trips by 21 drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But several full-time drivers at the protest told KQED that they make significantly less than $15 an hour after they deduct the costs of driving, such as gas and car maintenance, and must work long days to make ends meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re not going to work 12, 13 hours a day, you’re not going to survive,” said Armen Oganesyan, 57, who drives for Uber and Lyft in Los Angeles. “We basically live in the car … We are working every day from Monday to Sunday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Gig Workers Union, which representatives said is a movement of tens of thousands of people\u003cb data-stringify-type=\"bold\">, \u003c/b>merges two groups that had operated in the southern and northern regions of the state for years: the Mobile Workers Alliance and We Drive Progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The rally comes during a week when \u003ca href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/11/uber-lyft-doordash-stock-tank-gig-worker-rules/\">Uber, Lyft and DoorDash stock prices\u003c/a> plunged after the federal government unveiled proposed rules that \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/business/economy/biden-gig-workers-contractors-employees.html?login=smartlock&auth=login-smartlock\">could make it easier\u003c/a> for gig drivers, as well as millions of construction and home care workers, to be treated as employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed changes aim to “combat misclassification,” which also \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/WHD/WHD20221011-0\">hurts the economy\u003c/a>, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have seen in many cases that employers misclassify their employees as independent contractors, particularly among our nation’s most vulnerable workers,” wrote Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “Misclassification deprives workers of their federal labor protections, including their right to be paid their full, legally earned wages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An estimated \u003ca href=\"https://ucreconomicforecast.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/UCR_CEFD_CA_AppDrivers_Analysis_2_17_2022.pdf\">1.37 million people worked on at least one ride or delivery\u003c/a> for DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft and Uber platforms in California between 2020 and 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly two years ago, California voters approved a ballot initiative that exempted Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and other app-based businesses from having to treat drivers as employees. Proposition 22 is currently in effect but is being challenged in state court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies, which spent more than $200 million to get that measure passed, say changing how they classify drivers threatens the survival of their businesses. In addition, they argue most drivers prefer to remain as independent contractors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With more than 1 million unfilled traditional jobs and record low unemployment in the state, drivers are still choosing this work because of the earning potential, benefits, independence, and flexibility it provides,” wrote a spokesperson for Lyft. “The special interest groups that claim to support drivers should listen to the vast majority of them who want to keep what they have under Prop 22.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lydia Olson, who owns a consulting business in Sacramento, fears that becoming an employee would mean she could no longer drive for Uber and Lyft, as she has done for the past five years. She worries that the legal challenge to Proposition 22 or changes to federal rules could strip her of her choice to supplement her income when and where she chooses, for as long as she wants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a scary time,” said Olson, 55. “I mean, how would you feel if you knew that the politicians could turn off your ability to work permanently overnight? And there’s nothing you could do about it, because that’s what we are looking at.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Olson said a flexible schedule allows her to care for her husband, who has multiple sclerosis. She estimates she makes $30 an hour in net income as a driver, even with recent increases in gas prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a reason why so many people choose independent contracting and that’s because it works for them, and that’s their choice. And we all know there’s trade-offs,” she said. “So it makes no sense to force us to be employees, because we didn’t choose that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Spokespeople for Uber, Lyft and DoorDash said Proposition 22 delivered a 120% minimum wage guarantee for drivers, while offering health care subsidies and other benefits. They pointed to a UC Riverside analysis that concluded \u003ca href=\"https://ucreconomicforecast.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/UCR_CEFD_CA_AppDrivers_Analysis_2_17_2022.pdf\">drivers earned $25.17 per active hour\u003c/a> in 2021, not including tips. The study was commissioned by the \u003ca href=\"https://protectdriversandservices.com/about/our-coalition/\">Protect App-Based Drivers and Services\u003c/a> coalition, of which Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart are members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, a separate report authored by researchers at PolicyLink and Rideshare Drivers United last month \u003ca href=\"https://nationalequityatlas.org/prop22-paystudy\">estimated drastically lower earnings\u003c/a> for these gig workers. According to that study, typical rideshare drivers in California are taking home just $6.20 an hour, in part because they are not paid for the total time they are working.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In statements, Uber, Lyft and DoorDash spokespeople slammed those findings as “deeply flawed,” criticizing the small sample used for the analysis, which was based on data from 3,020 trips by 21 drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But several full-time drivers at the protest told KQED that they make significantly less than $15 an hour after they deduct the costs of driving, such as gas and car maintenance, and must work long days to make ends meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re not going to work 12, 13 hours a day, you’re not going to survive,” said Armen Oganesyan, 57, who drives for Uber and Lyft in Los Angeles. “We basically live in the car … We are working every day from Monday to Sunday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Gig Workers Union, which representatives said is a movement of tens of thousands of people\u003cb data-stringify-type=\"bold\">, \u003c/b>merges two groups that had operated in the southern and northern regions of the state for years: the Mobile Workers Alliance and We Drive Progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Ride Service Drivers Say They Need Higher Pay as Gas Prices Rise",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s no fun getting gas these days. The average price in many Bay Area counties is $5.80 a gallon. And that’s making it tough for people who drive for gig companies like Uber and Lyft, or who are taxi drivers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Uber and Lyft have introduced a few options to help drivers with increased fuel costs, like a new fuel surcharge. But many drivers don’t think those measures aren’t enough — and what they really need is higher pay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guest\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/zuliemann\">Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman\u003c/a>, KQED reporter and producer\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"card card--enclosed grey\">\n\u003cp id=\"embed-code\" class=\"inconsolata\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC8397446884&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3qnsJSk\">\u003cem>Episode transcript\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\n\u003cp class=\"routes-Site-routes-Post-components-Post-components-PostTitle-___PostTitle__title\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11907530/as-gas-prices-rise-fares-for-ride-hailing-drivers-lag-behind\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">As Gas Prices Rise, Fares for Ride-Hailing Drivers Lag Behind\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s no fun getting gas these days. The average price in many Bay Area counties is $5.80 a gallon. And that’s making it tough for people who drive for gig companies like Uber and Lyft, or who are taxi drivers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Uber and Lyft have introduced a few options to help drivers with increased fuel costs, like a new fuel surcharge. But many drivers don’t think those measures aren’t enough — and what they really need is higher pay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guest\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/zuliemann\">Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman\u003c/a>, KQED reporter and producer\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"card card--enclosed grey\">\n\u003cp id=\"embed-code\" class=\"inconsolata\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC8397446884&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/3qnsJSk\">\u003cem>Episode transcript\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\n\u003cp class=\"routes-Site-routes-Post-components-Post-components-PostTitle-___PostTitle__title\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11907530/as-gas-prices-rise-fares-for-ride-hailing-drivers-lag-behind\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">As Gas Prices Rise, Fares for Ride-Hailing Drivers Lag Behind\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Driven by inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the average price for a gallon of gas has soared to $4.17 nationwide, the highest average price in 14 years. Here in the Bay Area, the price is even higher, hovering around $5.50. While rising gas prices affect nearly every corner of the economy, some of the people feeling the effects most directly are Bay Area ride-hailing and taxi drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rondu Gantt is a San Francisco resident who drives for Lyft and DoorDash. He says that companies should be paying their drivers more when gas prices spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that it’s necessary to increase every driver’s base fare. If you don't want to increase the rate of pay, increase the base fare. Making a $5 minimum would definitely help cover the cap cost,” Gantt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Lyft has not increased base fares or pay rates, it has partnered with a fuel cash-back program called GetUpside where drivers can earn $0.32 in cash back per gallon at certain gas stations, as well as 2% cash back when they use a Lyft debit card. Ride-hailing service Uber also has partnered with GetUpside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This program makes it easy for drivers to know where to get the best cash-back savings on gas, meaning more of the money they earn with Lyft can stay in their pockets,” said Zach Greenberger, head of strategic business development and global supply management at Lyft.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Sergio Avedian, Senior Contributor at The Rideshare Guy\"]'So it's kind of a silly point that Uber and Lyft make when they say, ‘We want you to be independent contractors but, wait a minute, you cannot decide on the price you charge for this ride,’'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s garbage,” said Sergio Avedian, senior contributor at \u003ca href=\"https://therideshareguy.com/\">The Rideshare Guy\u003c/a>, a blog focused on the gig economy. He’s also a part-time ride-hailing driver. “I'm a member of GetUpside. All the GetUpside stations where you can get 20 or 25 cents back have prices that are already 60 to 80 cents higher than where I buy my gas normally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because ride-hailing drivers are classified as independent contractors and not employees, they must pay out of pocket for car parts and repairs. Yet, unlike other independent contractors, like an electrician or a plumber, for instance, they can’t set their own rates.[aside postID=\"news_11896845,news_11902881,news_11906414\" label=\"Related Posts\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So it's kind of a silly point that Uber and Lyft make when they say, ‘We want you to be independent contractors but, wait a minute, you cannot decide on the price you charge for this ride,’” Avedian said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, an \u003ca href=\"https://www.coworker.org/petitions/gas-prices-3\">online petition\u003c/a> has been started, asking Uber and Lyft to increase rates for drivers. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like ride-hailing drivers, San Francisco taxicab drivers also are not able to independently set their rates. Mark Gruberg has been a taxi driver in the city for nearly 40 years, and says taxicab drivers are also feeling the squeeze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“After the rental of the taxi, which is the biggest expense, fuel prices would be the next biggest expense,\" said Gruberg. \"It's cutting a deep hole in pockets that are already pretty empty for a variety of reasons, including Uber and Lyft, including the pandemic, and including inflation in general.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gruberg says that any fare hikes would need to be approved by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The last time taxi fares were increased was in 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nothing like that has been scheduled and, far as I know, even discussed with them yet, because this latest blow is very recent, but I suspect that this conversation will come up,” said Gruberg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance is set to meet Wednesday night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Avedian says that barring any fare increases, there are some things ride-hailing drivers can do to make their work more profitable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Figure out what it costs you to run your car per hour, and just drive when you think you're profitable, like when Uber and Lyft offer you extra incentives on top of the regular base pay,” said Avedian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the war in Ukraine has intensified, President Biden announced yesterday further sanctions on Russia, declaring the United States would no longer import any Russian gas, oil or energy. \"Since [Vladimir] Putin began his military buildup on Ukrainian borders, just since then, the price of the gas at the pump in America went up 75 cents. And with this action, it’s going to go up further,” Biden said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, Bay Area ride-hailing drivers will be picking up the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from KQED's María Fernanda Bernal.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Driven by inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the average price for a gallon of gas has soared to $4.17 nationwide, the highest average price in 14 years. Here in the Bay Area, the price is even higher, hovering around $5.50. While rising gas prices affect nearly every corner of the economy, some of the people feeling the effects most directly are Bay Area ride-hailing and taxi drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rondu Gantt is a San Francisco resident who drives for Lyft and DoorDash. He says that companies should be paying their drivers more when gas prices spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that it’s necessary to increase every driver’s base fare. If you don't want to increase the rate of pay, increase the base fare. Making a $5 minimum would definitely help cover the cap cost,” Gantt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Lyft has not increased base fares or pay rates, it has partnered with a fuel cash-back program called GetUpside where drivers can earn $0.32 in cash back per gallon at certain gas stations, as well as 2% cash back when they use a Lyft debit card. Ride-hailing service Uber also has partnered with GetUpside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This program makes it easy for drivers to know where to get the best cash-back savings on gas, meaning more of the money they earn with Lyft can stay in their pockets,” said Zach Greenberger, head of strategic business development and global supply management at Lyft.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So it's kind of a silly point that Uber and Lyft make when they say, ‘We want you to be independent contractors but, wait a minute, you cannot decide on the price you charge for this ride,’” Avedian said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, an \u003ca href=\"https://www.coworker.org/petitions/gas-prices-3\">online petition\u003c/a> has been started, asking Uber and Lyft to increase rates for drivers. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like ride-hailing drivers, San Francisco taxicab drivers also are not able to independently set their rates. Mark Gruberg has been a taxi driver in the city for nearly 40 years, and says taxicab drivers are also feeling the squeeze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“After the rental of the taxi, which is the biggest expense, fuel prices would be the next biggest expense,\" said Gruberg. \"It's cutting a deep hole in pockets that are already pretty empty for a variety of reasons, including Uber and Lyft, including the pandemic, and including inflation in general.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gruberg says that any fare hikes would need to be approved by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The last time taxi fares were increased was in 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nothing like that has been scheduled and, far as I know, even discussed with them yet, because this latest blow is very recent, but I suspect that this conversation will come up,” said Gruberg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance is set to meet Wednesday night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Avedian says that barring any fare increases, there are some things ride-hailing drivers can do to make their work more profitable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Figure out what it costs you to run your car per hour, and just drive when you think you're profitable, like when Uber and Lyft offer you extra incentives on top of the regular base pay,” said Avedian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the war in Ukraine has intensified, President Biden announced yesterday further sanctions on Russia, declaring the United States would no longer import any Russian gas, oil or energy. \"Since [Vladimir] Putin began his military buildup on Ukrainian borders, just since then, the price of the gas at the pump in America went up 75 cents. And with this action, it’s going to go up further,” Biden said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, Bay Area ride-hailing drivers will be picking up the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from KQED's María Fernanda Bernal.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco’s taxi drivers have borne the financial, emotional and physical burden of the city’s broken taxi medallion system, but they aren’t party to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11659420/credit-union-is-suing-san-francisco-over-taxi-medallion-meltdown\">a major lawsuit unfolding right now\u003c/a>, between a local credit union and the city, that affects them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco encouraged the San Francisco Federal Credit Union to finance loans so the city could sell taxi medallions to drivers, many of whom are people of color and immigrants. Some 700 taxi drivers bought medallions at $250,000 each beginning back in 2010.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city made tens of millions of dollars. Then the city allowed Uber and Lyft to operate without medallions, crushing the taxi industry and tanking the value of a medallion. Not a single medallion has been sold since 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The drivers are stuck with the medallion and their debt. Many have been defaulting on their loans, leaving the credit union on the hook for millions. Despite which side prevails, taxi drivers may see no relief for the debt they have been carrying for almost a decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the lawsuit, the San Francisco Federal Credit Union alleges that the city broke its contract by failing to maintain a viable market for medallions. It is suing for damages and fees that were in the range of tens of millions of dollars when the suit was first filed in 2018. That figure has continued to balloon due to defaults, along with the interest on the loans held by drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After \u003ca href=\"https://omny.fm/shows/kqed-segmented-audio/san-francisco-faces-lawsuit-over-taxi-medallions\">KQED aired a radio story on Sept. 27\u003c/a> about the suffering of taxi drivers, the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office requested this statement be added to the story: “The City and the Credit Union have a contract. The City has not broken that contract, so taxpayers should not be forced to bail out this bank because of the investment choices the bank made.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment on any questions related to the taxi drivers and their debt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the credit union is now on the hook for deciding to partner with the city to help taxi drivers, those drivers are now on the hook for buying into what was a money-making scheme for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Cashing in on medallions\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Taxi medallions used to be free, awarded by seniority. Drivers would wait on a list for over 20 years for their chance to get one. And for decades, taxi medallions were a sure bet, a way to have a stable, middle-class life. Drivers could earn $30 or $40 an hour after expenses. They could also make passive income by leasing out their medallion to other drivers. It was the de facto cab driver retirement plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But then, in 2010, to make money after the financial crisis, then-mayor Gavin Newsom decided to start selling medallions, and some 700 taxi-driving families bought them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Ed Lee became mayor in 2011, he embraced Uber and Lyft. Medallion values plummeted along with the earnings of taxi drivers. They couldn’t make enough money on the road to pay their loans, and suddenly there were no buyers for medallions. Those who had bought into the system were stuck with the debt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor London Breed and her administration haven’t taken steps to alleviate debts for these drivers. Over the years, neither Newsom nor Breed has responded to multiple requests for comment on the issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11694401/san-francisco-made-millions-selling-taxi-medallions-now-drivers-are-paying-the-price\">I have been following the plight of San Francisco taxi drivers\u003c/a> in the medallion system for almost a decade. Many drivers shackled to the medallions have lost their life savings, their homes and their health. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11798851/s-f-taxi-drivers-say-the-medallion-crisis-is-killing-them-literally\">Several have died from stress-related illnesses, some in their cars while waiting for a fare.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Mounting debt\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, before the pandemic, I went to the San Francisco International Airport taxi lot to talk with drivers. There were several hundred cabs parked in a line, waiting for passengers. It could take over three hours to get a single fare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For most of the drivers I talked with, like Ali Asghar, the dream had always been to get a medallion. At the lot that day, Asghar told me he threw a big party when he got the chance to buy a medallion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was happy. My family was happy. We celebrated,” Asghar said. “I feel that was the happiest day in my life. I hug my wife. I hug my kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I spoke with Asghar two years ago, he said he was already on the edge. At night he would wake up in a cold sweat, go in to stare at his kids and wonder what kind of future he could give them now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the pandemic began, taxi work completely dried up. Asghar, like many other drivers, had to start working for the app companies that destroyed their livelihoods. He’s driving for Lyft and Uber, along with DoorDash and Amazon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If drivers default on their loans, they will lose everything they already paid into the medallion, often their entire life savings. Drivers like Ali Alikhani do whatever they can to make payments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, Alikhani told me he was using his Social Security to pay for his medallion. He had already paid $165,000 into the loan. “This job destroyed my life,” he told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I contacted Alikhani recently, he told me he’s still in the same exact situation. He’s sending about three-quarters of his Social Security check every month to the medallion loan. That leaves just a few hundred dollars a month for him to live on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alikhani said he’s lucky he owns his home. Namdev Sharma lost his house to the medallion. Sharma told me that when he had to sell his house, he sat his kids down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I told them I was losing this house,” Sharma said. “They did not know there was corruption in America.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The drivers have always told me that city officials assured them that the medallion was a good investment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ejaz Ahmed, who drove a cab for over 30 years, said, “All the SFMTA [San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency] stuff was convincing to the average drivers that the medallion price will remain the same.” He said the message from City Hall was that drivers would always be able to sell their medallion and get out whenever they wanted to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decade of economic devastation is putting a physical strain on cab drivers. Over the years I have interviewed drivers who have not only lost their homes, but who are living in homeless shelters. I interviewed the children of a driver who had died in his cab. Two years ago, in a dark cab at the airport taxi lot, Abdelellah Alhimsi showed me his ruined teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alhimsi was so stressed he had broken his night guard and didn’t have money to buy a new one. Without the guard he started cracking his teeth. He’d broken a half dozen teeth by the time I talked to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t know what happened to Alhimsi since I spoke with him two years ago. He hasn’t responded to calls or emails. The other cab drivers I am in touch with don’t know what happened to him, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is a general feeling among the drivers I’ve interviewed over the years: that the city probably would have tried harder to do something if they were white, not immigrants and people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Last shred of hope\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I recently got back in touch with Namdev Sharma. He’s been working at the United States Postal Service to pay his medallion loan. Like many of these drivers, he’s still doing whatever he can with the hope of not losing all the money he paid into the loan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I invested my whole life savings money,” he said. “It’s almost $90,000 I paid to the bank. I don’t want to lose that money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sharma and a group of taxi drivers used to go to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11803400/sf-taxi-drivers-who-go-every-week-to-city-hall-buy-back-our-medallions\">City Hall every week for nearly three years to plead for help\u003c/a>. But the community of drivers fighting for justice is now breaking down under the weight of the debt. Drivers are taking other jobs. Some are leaving the country, and some are disappearing altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sharma said drivers see the current lawsuit as one final chance. “I have like a 10% hope, not a 90%. They will refund our money or not,” Sharma said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is no clear way drivers would see any refund from this case. The taxi drivers are not a party to the lawsuit. If the credit union wins, it may decide to forgive the amount drivers still owe on the loans. A ruling on the lawsuit is expected in mid-October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers who are more savvy about the legal system hope that the lawsuit could give them an opening. Because of this suit, there is now public testimony of events, like former city officials talking about how Uber and Lyft posed a threat to the medallion system and how something should have been done. Drivers hope those testimonies and a favorable ruling by the judge could open the door for them to take further legal action against the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The big fear of drivers like Sharma, though, is that once this lawsuit is over, so will be the last shred of attention on their plight. The 700 taxi-driving families who bought medallions do not have the kind of financial resources of a credit union to launch a legal battle. If they don’t get some relief now, then when?\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "For almost a decade, the broken medallion system has been crushing taxi drivers financially, emotionally and physically. A ruling on a lawsuit, expected mid-October, might change that, but drivers don't have much hope.",
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"title": "San Francisco Taxi Drivers Plead for Debt Relief as Lawsuit Over Medallions Continues | KQED",
"description": "For almost a decade, the broken medallion system has been crushing taxi drivers financially, emotionally and physically. A ruling on a lawsuit, expected mid-October, might change that, but drivers don't have much hope.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco’s taxi drivers have borne the financial, emotional and physical burden of the city’s broken taxi medallion system, but they aren’t party to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11659420/credit-union-is-suing-san-francisco-over-taxi-medallion-meltdown\">a major lawsuit unfolding right now\u003c/a>, between a local credit union and the city, that affects them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco encouraged the San Francisco Federal Credit Union to finance loans so the city could sell taxi medallions to drivers, many of whom are people of color and immigrants. Some 700 taxi drivers bought medallions at $250,000 each beginning back in 2010.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city made tens of millions of dollars. Then the city allowed Uber and Lyft to operate without medallions, crushing the taxi industry and tanking the value of a medallion. Not a single medallion has been sold since 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The drivers are stuck with the medallion and their debt. Many have been defaulting on their loans, leaving the credit union on the hook for millions. Despite which side prevails, taxi drivers may see no relief for the debt they have been carrying for almost a decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the lawsuit, the San Francisco Federal Credit Union alleges that the city broke its contract by failing to maintain a viable market for medallions. It is suing for damages and fees that were in the range of tens of millions of dollars when the suit was first filed in 2018. That figure has continued to balloon due to defaults, along with the interest on the loans held by drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After \u003ca href=\"https://omny.fm/shows/kqed-segmented-audio/san-francisco-faces-lawsuit-over-taxi-medallions\">KQED aired a radio story on Sept. 27\u003c/a> about the suffering of taxi drivers, the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office requested this statement be added to the story: “The City and the Credit Union have a contract. The City has not broken that contract, so taxpayers should not be forced to bail out this bank because of the investment choices the bank made.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment on any questions related to the taxi drivers and their debt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the credit union is now on the hook for deciding to partner with the city to help taxi drivers, those drivers are now on the hook for buying into what was a money-making scheme for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Cashing in on medallions\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Taxi medallions used to be free, awarded by seniority. Drivers would wait on a list for over 20 years for their chance to get one. And for decades, taxi medallions were a sure bet, a way to have a stable, middle-class life. Drivers could earn $30 or $40 an hour after expenses. They could also make passive income by leasing out their medallion to other drivers. It was the de facto cab driver retirement plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But then, in 2010, to make money after the financial crisis, then-mayor Gavin Newsom decided to start selling medallions, and some 700 taxi-driving families bought them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Ed Lee became mayor in 2011, he embraced Uber and Lyft. Medallion values plummeted along with the earnings of taxi drivers. They couldn’t make enough money on the road to pay their loans, and suddenly there were no buyers for medallions. Those who had bought into the system were stuck with the debt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor London Breed and her administration haven’t taken steps to alleviate debts for these drivers. Over the years, neither Newsom nor Breed has responded to multiple requests for comment on the issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11694401/san-francisco-made-millions-selling-taxi-medallions-now-drivers-are-paying-the-price\">I have been following the plight of San Francisco taxi drivers\u003c/a> in the medallion system for almost a decade. Many drivers shackled to the medallions have lost their life savings, their homes and their health. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11798851/s-f-taxi-drivers-say-the-medallion-crisis-is-killing-them-literally\">Several have died from stress-related illnesses, some in their cars while waiting for a fare.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Mounting debt\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, before the pandemic, I went to the San Francisco International Airport taxi lot to talk with drivers. There were several hundred cabs parked in a line, waiting for passengers. It could take over three hours to get a single fare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For most of the drivers I talked with, like Ali Asghar, the dream had always been to get a medallion. At the lot that day, Asghar told me he threw a big party when he got the chance to buy a medallion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was happy. My family was happy. We celebrated,” Asghar said. “I feel that was the happiest day in my life. I hug my wife. I hug my kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I spoke with Asghar two years ago, he said he was already on the edge. At night he would wake up in a cold sweat, go in to stare at his kids and wonder what kind of future he could give them now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the pandemic began, taxi work completely dried up. Asghar, like many other drivers, had to start working for the app companies that destroyed their livelihoods. He’s driving for Lyft and Uber, along with DoorDash and Amazon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If drivers default on their loans, they will lose everything they already paid into the medallion, often their entire life savings. Drivers like Ali Alikhani do whatever they can to make payments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, Alikhani told me he was using his Social Security to pay for his medallion. He had already paid $165,000 into the loan. “This job destroyed my life,” he told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I contacted Alikhani recently, he told me he’s still in the same exact situation. He’s sending about three-quarters of his Social Security check every month to the medallion loan. That leaves just a few hundred dollars a month for him to live on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alikhani said he’s lucky he owns his home. Namdev Sharma lost his house to the medallion. Sharma told me that when he had to sell his house, he sat his kids down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I told them I was losing this house,” Sharma said. “They did not know there was corruption in America.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The drivers have always told me that city officials assured them that the medallion was a good investment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ejaz Ahmed, who drove a cab for over 30 years, said, “All the SFMTA [San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency] stuff was convincing to the average drivers that the medallion price will remain the same.” He said the message from City Hall was that drivers would always be able to sell their medallion and get out whenever they wanted to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decade of economic devastation is putting a physical strain on cab drivers. Over the years I have interviewed drivers who have not only lost their homes, but who are living in homeless shelters. I interviewed the children of a driver who had died in his cab. Two years ago, in a dark cab at the airport taxi lot, Abdelellah Alhimsi showed me his ruined teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alhimsi was so stressed he had broken his night guard and didn’t have money to buy a new one. Without the guard he started cracking his teeth. He’d broken a half dozen teeth by the time I talked to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t know what happened to Alhimsi since I spoke with him two years ago. He hasn’t responded to calls or emails. The other cab drivers I am in touch with don’t know what happened to him, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is a general feeling among the drivers I’ve interviewed over the years: that the city probably would have tried harder to do something if they were white, not immigrants and people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Last shred of hope\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I recently got back in touch with Namdev Sharma. He’s been working at the United States Postal Service to pay his medallion loan. Like many of these drivers, he’s still doing whatever he can with the hope of not losing all the money he paid into the loan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I invested my whole life savings money,” he said. “It’s almost $90,000 I paid to the bank. I don’t want to lose that money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sharma and a group of taxi drivers used to go to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11803400/sf-taxi-drivers-who-go-every-week-to-city-hall-buy-back-our-medallions\">City Hall every week for nearly three years to plead for help\u003c/a>. But the community of drivers fighting for justice is now breaking down under the weight of the debt. Drivers are taking other jobs. Some are leaving the country, and some are disappearing altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sharma said drivers see the current lawsuit as one final chance. “I have like a 10% hope, not a 90%. They will refund our money or not,” Sharma said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is no clear way drivers would see any refund from this case. The taxi drivers are not a party to the lawsuit. If the credit union wins, it may decide to forgive the amount drivers still owe on the loans. A ruling on the lawsuit is expected in mid-October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drivers who are more savvy about the legal system hope that the lawsuit could give them an opening. Because of this suit, there is now public testimony of events, like former city officials talking about how Uber and Lyft posed a threat to the medallion system and how something should have been done. Drivers hope those testimonies and a favorable ruling by the judge could open the door for them to take further legal action against the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The big fear of drivers like Sharma, though, is that once this lawsuit is over, so will be the last shred of attention on their plight. The 700 taxi-driving families who bought medallions do not have the kind of financial resources of a credit union to launch a legal battle. If they don’t get some relief now, then when?\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Caldor Fire Evacuees Report Tahoe Ride-Hail Price Gouging of More Than $1,500",
"title": "Caldor Fire Evacuees Report Tahoe Ride-Hail Price Gouging of More Than $1,500",
"headTitle": "KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>For the latest on the wildfires threatening the Tahoe basin, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11886590/despite-containment-gains-caldor-fire-continues-march-toward-tahoe-basin\">check out KQED's updated coverage\u003c/a>. Find \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/IMT6\">the latest on evacuation orders and warnings\u003c/a>, including a map from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/IMT6\">current shelter information for evacuees\u003c/a>. Follow \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CALFIREAEU\">Cal Fire AEU on Twitter\u003c/a> for up-to-date information.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As fearful Lake Tahoe residents packed up belongings and fled a raging wildfire burning toward the California-Nevada border, some encountered an unexpected obstacle: price gouging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A ride-hail company quoted a fee of more than $1,500 to be transported from the smoke-choked ski resort at Heavenly to the safety of Reno-Tahoe International Airport, about eight times the going rate. A Nevada hotel-casino outside the evacuation order zone advertised a two-night stay for $1,090.72, almost four times the midweek rate offered a day earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reports of price gouging routinely emerge during natural disasters and won newfound attention early in the pandemic, when some businesses tried to capitalize on panic amid demand for toilet paper and hand sanitizer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there is no federal law that bans it during emergencies, at least a dozen statehouses have addressed price gouging since last year, including Nevada and California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning the practice last September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike California, though, a price gouging prohibition signed in Nevada by Gov. Steve Sisolak in June doesn’t take effect until October. Its start date limits officials from policing the issue and taking action beyond promising to monitor it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We hope that good merchants are not going to partake in price gouging,” Sisolak said Tuesday in Carson City, where ash particles from the Caldor Fire rained from the sky. “They’re going to partake in trying to make their goods available to the widest group of people they possibly can.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials in both states publicly warned businesses in the shadow of the massive blaze against price gouging, with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, his Nevada counterpart Aaron Ford and U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei in Nevada asking consumers to report incidents to their offices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/akayourfavactor/status/1432728541603319810\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ford's office said Wednesday it hadn’t received any specific complaints. Bonta’s said the information was confidential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Caldor Fire had calmed significantly Friday but remained just a few miles from the California resort town of South Lake Tahoe. On Monday, flames raced so quickly toward the city that officials ordered a mass evacuation of all 22,000 residents. People across the state line in Douglas County were ordered to leave a day later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The MontBleu Resort, Casino & Spa — a towering 438-room Nevada hotel just blocks from the California line — began offering discounts for evacuees, $60 rates for firefighters and first responders, and free lodging for its employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For everyone else, it hiked room prices Tuesday from $120 to $450 per night before taxes and fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tim Tretton, the resort’s vice president-general manager, said in a statement Wednesday it did so to deter tourists from traveling near the wildfire and to keep rooms available for evacuees. The company planned to pay back the difference to those who booked at the higher cost, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We did not and do not plan to collect on these rates, and have provided reimbursements or reductions as appropriate,” Tretton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leaving South Lake Tahoe also got pricier for some travelers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 60-mile Lyft XL ride from the city to Reno normally costs roughly $200. On Tuesday, it rose nearly eightfold as people rushed to beat the flames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887569\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11887569\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1233\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1-800x514.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1-1020x655.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1-160x103.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1-1536x986.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Traffic backs up on Highway 50 as people evacuate ahead of the Caldor Fire on Aug. 30, 2021, in South Lake Tahoe. \u003ccite>( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A furious resident shared a screenshot of the rates on Twitter, showing $1,535 for a minivan or SUV for a minimum of five passengers. SFGate reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/Lyft-price-gouge-South-Lake-Tahoe-Caldor-Fire-16425563.php\">the costs had dropped back to $230\u003c/a> midday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft and Uber said in statements Wednesday that price jumps triggered automatic caps as demand soared around South Lake Tahoe amid emergency evacuations. Lyft said it was “reviewing and adjusting fares for certain riders who were impacted in the region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When ride requests outpace the number of drivers on the road, prime-time pricing — elevated fares designed to get more drivers to high-demand areas — is automatically enabled,\" the company said. “When we realized how the evacuation order was affecting Lyft prices, we immediately implemented a cap and ultimately suspended prime-time pricing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber said fares in some places were capped Monday after it identified a public state of emergency. It enacted a second cap Tuesday.[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"california-wildfires\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gas stations around evacuation zones did not appear to have raised prices significantly this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and 39 states have regulations limiting price gouging during emergencies, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mississippi, parts of which have been battered by Hurricane Ida, strengthened penalties in its price gouging law in 2006, months after Hurricane Katrina left a wide swath of destruction and supply shortages caused long lines for gasoline during the first weeks after the storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>North Carolina's attorney general filed a price-gouging lawsuit last week against a gas station that hiked prices for mid-grade and premium gas to $9.99 per gallon after a ransomware attack forced the Colonial Pipeline — the United States' largest fuel delivery system — to shut down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevada's anti-price gouging law passed in May on a party-line vote, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. The law will ban price gouging in areas where the governor has declared a state of emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California law generally prohibits businesses from raising prices by more than 10% following a state or local emergency declaration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you see price gouging — or if you’ve been a victim of it — I encourage you to immediately file a complaint with my office online at \u003ca href=\"http://oag.cag.gov/report\">oag.cag.gov/report\u003c/a>, or contact your local police department or sheriff’s office,” Bonta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Scott Sonner reported from Reno. Associated Press writers Olga Rodriguez and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco, Michelle L. Price in Las Vegas, and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report. Sam Metz is a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>For the latest on the wildfires threatening the Tahoe basin, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11886590/despite-containment-gains-caldor-fire-continues-march-toward-tahoe-basin\">check out KQED's updated coverage\u003c/a>. Find \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/IMT6\">the latest on evacuation orders and warnings\u003c/a>, including a map from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, as well as \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/IMT6\">current shelter information for evacuees\u003c/a>. Follow \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CALFIREAEU\">Cal Fire AEU on Twitter\u003c/a> for up-to-date information.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As fearful Lake Tahoe residents packed up belongings and fled a raging wildfire burning toward the California-Nevada border, some encountered an unexpected obstacle: price gouging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A ride-hail company quoted a fee of more than $1,500 to be transported from the smoke-choked ski resort at Heavenly to the safety of Reno-Tahoe International Airport, about eight times the going rate. A Nevada hotel-casino outside the evacuation order zone advertised a two-night stay for $1,090.72, almost four times the midweek rate offered a day earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reports of price gouging routinely emerge during natural disasters and won newfound attention early in the pandemic, when some businesses tried to capitalize on panic amid demand for toilet paper and hand sanitizer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there is no federal law that bans it during emergencies, at least a dozen statehouses have addressed price gouging since last year, including Nevada and California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning the practice last September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike California, though, a price gouging prohibition signed in Nevada by Gov. Steve Sisolak in June doesn’t take effect until October. Its start date limits officials from policing the issue and taking action beyond promising to monitor it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We hope that good merchants are not going to partake in price gouging,” Sisolak said Tuesday in Carson City, where ash particles from the Caldor Fire rained from the sky. “They’re going to partake in trying to make their goods available to the widest group of people they possibly can.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials in both states publicly warned businesses in the shadow of the massive blaze against price gouging, with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, his Nevada counterpart Aaron Ford and U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei in Nevada asking consumers to report incidents to their offices.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ford's office said Wednesday it hadn’t received any specific complaints. Bonta’s said the information was confidential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Caldor Fire had calmed significantly Friday but remained just a few miles from the California resort town of South Lake Tahoe. On Monday, flames raced so quickly toward the city that officials ordered a mass evacuation of all 22,000 residents. People across the state line in Douglas County were ordered to leave a day later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The MontBleu Resort, Casino & Spa — a towering 438-room Nevada hotel just blocks from the California line — began offering discounts for evacuees, $60 rates for firefighters and first responders, and free lodging for its employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For everyone else, it hiked room prices Tuesday from $120 to $450 per night before taxes and fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tim Tretton, the resort’s vice president-general manager, said in a statement Wednesday it did so to deter tourists from traveling near the wildfire and to keep rooms available for evacuees. The company planned to pay back the difference to those who booked at the higher cost, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We did not and do not plan to collect on these rates, and have provided reimbursements or reductions as appropriate,” Tretton said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leaving South Lake Tahoe also got pricier for some travelers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 60-mile Lyft XL ride from the city to Reno normally costs roughly $200. On Tuesday, it rose nearly eightfold as people rushed to beat the flames.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887569\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11887569\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1233\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1-800x514.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1-1020x655.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1-160x103.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1337305905-1-1-1536x986.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Traffic backs up on Highway 50 as people evacuate ahead of the Caldor Fire on Aug. 30, 2021, in South Lake Tahoe. \u003ccite>( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A furious resident shared a screenshot of the rates on Twitter, showing $1,535 for a minivan or SUV for a minimum of five passengers. SFGate reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/Lyft-price-gouge-South-Lake-Tahoe-Caldor-Fire-16425563.php\">the costs had dropped back to $230\u003c/a> midday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lyft and Uber said in statements Wednesday that price jumps triggered automatic caps as demand soared around South Lake Tahoe amid emergency evacuations. Lyft said it was “reviewing and adjusting fares for certain riders who were impacted in the region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When ride requests outpace the number of drivers on the road, prime-time pricing — elevated fares designed to get more drivers to high-demand areas — is automatically enabled,\" the company said. “When we realized how the evacuation order was affecting Lyft prices, we immediately implemented a cap and ultimately suspended prime-time pricing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber said fares in some places were capped Monday after it identified a public state of emergency. It enacted a second cap Tuesday.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gas stations around evacuation zones did not appear to have raised prices significantly this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and 39 states have regulations limiting price gouging during emergencies, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mississippi, parts of which have been battered by Hurricane Ida, strengthened penalties in its price gouging law in 2006, months after Hurricane Katrina left a wide swath of destruction and supply shortages caused long lines for gasoline during the first weeks after the storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>North Carolina's attorney general filed a price-gouging lawsuit last week against a gas station that hiked prices for mid-grade and premium gas to $9.99 per gallon after a ransomware attack forced the Colonial Pipeline — the United States' largest fuel delivery system — to shut down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevada's anti-price gouging law passed in May on a party-line vote, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. The law will ban price gouging in areas where the governor has declared a state of emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California law generally prohibits businesses from raising prices by more than 10% following a state or local emergency declaration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you see price gouging — or if you’ve been a victim of it — I encourage you to immediately file a complaint with my office online at \u003ca href=\"http://oag.cag.gov/report\">oag.cag.gov/report\u003c/a>, or contact your local police department or sheriff’s office,” Bonta said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Scott Sonner reported from Reno. Associated Press writers Olga Rodriguez and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco, Michelle L. Price in Las Vegas, and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report. Sam Metz is a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A judge Friday struck down a California ballot measure that exempted Uber and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services from a state law requiring drivers to be classified as employees eligible for benefits and job protections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that Proposition 22 was unconstitutional.[aside postID=\"news_11842964\" label=\"More Prop. 22 coverage\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters approved the measure in November after Uber, Lyft and other services spent $200 million in its favor, making it the most expensive ballot measure in state history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber said it planned to appeal, setting up a fight that could likely end up in the California Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This ruling ignores the will of the overwhelming majority of California voters and defies both logic and the law,” company spokesperson Noah Edwardsen said. “You don’t have to take our word for it: California’s attorney general strongly defended Proposition 22’s constitutionality in this very case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the measure will remain in force pending the appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge sided with three drivers and the Service Employees International Union in a lawsuit that argued the measure improperly removed the state Legislature’s ability to grant workers the right to access to the state workers’ compensation program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/LorenaSGonzalez/status/1428912910793723905\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For two years, drivers have been saying that democracy cannot be bought. And today’s decision shows they were right,” said Bob Schoonover, president of the SEIU California State Council.[aside postID=\"news_11843123\" label=\"An explainer on Prop. 22\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proposition 22 shielded app-based ride-hailing and delivery companies from a labor law that required such services to treat drivers as employees and not independent contractors, who don’t have to receive benefits such as paid sick leave or unemployment insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber and Lyft threatened to leave the state if voters rejected the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor spent about $20 million to challenge the proposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state Supreme Court initially declined to hear the case in February — mainly on procedural grounds — but left open the possibility of a lower court challenge.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters approved the measure in November after Uber, Lyft and other services spent $200 million in its favor, making it the most expensive ballot measure in state history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uber said it planned to appeal, setting up a fight that could likely end up in the California Supreme Court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This ruling ignores the will of the overwhelming majority of California voters and defies both logic and the law,” company spokesperson Noah Edwardsen said. “You don’t have to take our word for it: California’s attorney general strongly defended Proposition 22’s constitutionality in this very case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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