For immediate release: TODAY, Friday, February 7, 2024
Contact: Lori Simmons, 773-217-8291 or loriann@thepeopleslobbyusa.org
Contact: Deana Rutherford, (872) 395-8167 or deana@thepeopleslobbyusa.org
Rideshare demand action as carjackers use Uber/Lyft apps to “lure” victims
Drivers organized in the Chicago Gig Alliance say their ordinance, not optional verification programs, will protect driver safety
Yesterday, Chicago police issued a warning that Chicago rideshare drivers are being targeted in another wave of armed robberies and hijackings.
Police said that at least seven times since early January, rideshare drivers have been robbed by people who use the Uber and Lyft apps to “lure” a driver to their location. When the driver arrives, the suspects use a knife, a gun, or a chokehold to pin the driver to their seat, and then demand that the victim turn over their car and belongings.
Chicago Gig Alliance, The People’s Lobby’s rideshare organizing group, has been urging the City Council to vote on the Rideshare Living Wage and Safety Ordinance for more than three years. This ordinance, written in collaboration with drivers, would require passengers to verify their identity (as drivers are required to do) in order to use the app.
Uber proposed a somewhat-similar rider identification program last year, with one big difference: under Uber’s plan, verifying one’s identity is completely optional for passengers.
“Obviously if your goal is to rob a driver, you’re not going to choose to identify yourself in the app if it’s not required,” said Lori Simmons, rideshare driver and lead organizer with Chicago Gig Alliance. “The whole proposal was just an attempt by the corporation to look like they care about driver safety, but it was clear from day one that it wasn’t going to work.”
Chicago Gig Alliance members believe that the City of Chicago has a responsibility to protect its workers by passing the Rideshare Living Wage and Safety Ordinance, which would not only require passengers to verify their identities, but also address the fact that most drivers make less than the minimum wage. A wage study published by the UC Berkeley Labor Center last month found that drivers made an average of $9.05 per hour in January 2022.
“Not only is this job dangerous, but we’re not even clearing minimum wage to do it,” said Simmons. “There are 85,000 rideshare drivers working in this city, and we can’t wait any longer for the City of Chicago to force these corporations to treat us like human beings.”
Background:
Chicago is facing a safety, pay, and deactivation crisis
A UC Berkeley Labor Center study found that drivers made an average of $9.05/hr in January 2022.
Recent research from The Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), the Chicago Gig Alliance, and The People’s Lobby found that 74 percent of Illinois drivers surveyed reported experiencing threats, harassment, or assaults in the last year, higher rates than nationally.
Through this crisis, community members are joining in this fight, including 50+ public health practitioners in Illinois calling on Chicago’s Aldermen to protect drivers.
The Chicago Rideshare Living Wage & Safety Ordinance, introduced by Alderman Mike Rodriguez, and backed by 28 Aldermen, would provide the drivers who move Chicagoans safely through the City new protections from unfair deactivation. The ordinance would also support drivers in earning predictable wages and make ridesharing platforms safer for drivers and riders.
Chicago Gig Alliance has been organizing workers to win better pay and worker protections since 2019, and is a project of The People’s Lobby.
