Drivers organized in the Chicago Gig Alliance say their ordinance will protect driver safety
Press advisory: TODAY, Thursday, January 4, 2024
Contact: Lori Simmons, 773-217-8291 or loriann@thepeopleslobbyusa.org
A rideshare driver was critically injured in an attempted carjacking in Chicago at 10:10pm last night.
Chicago police said the 51-year-old driver was approached by three men after dropping off a passenger. The men took his phone and shot him in the chest when he refused to get out of his car. He was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition.
“There is an epidemic of driver assault in Chicago,” said Lori Simmons, Uber/Lyft driver and lead organizer of Chicago Gig Alliance. “There were at least two drivers shot and killed just last month that we know of. Drivers are out here losing their lives for less than minimum wage. This needs to stop.”
A 2022 University of Illinois study found that, between gas, vehicle expenses, and Uber and Lyft’s increasing “take rate,” or the percentage these corporations take from each fare, the average Chicago driver makes less than minimum wage for their work. There is currently no cap on Uber and Lyft’s take rate.
Drivers united in Chicago Gig Alliance are working to pass the Rideshare Living Wage and Safety Ordinance, also known as the Fair Share Ordinance, to correct these issues.
“I love my job, but it’s hard to keep doing it when Uber and Lyft make it so clear that they don’t have our backs,” said Beto Casas, who has been driving since 2018. “The safety issues we’re facing are getting worse and worse. Our pay is getting worse and worse. We tried to work with the corporations to get them to address these problems, but it’s clear that the only way things are going to change is if we change the laws.”
28 aldermen have signed onto the Fair Share Ordinance so far.
Background: Chicago is facing a safety, pay, and deactivation crisis
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.