6/22 SF Taxi Workers Alliance To Picket UBER on 8th And Market St. SF “The phony ‘partnership’ model Uber uses is an assault on workers’ rights,”

6/22 SF Taxi Workers Alliance To Picket UBER on 8th And Market St. SF “The phony ‘partnership’ model Uber uses is an assault on workers’ rights,”

6/22 SF Taxi Workers Alliance To Picket UBER

By Trevor Johnson
CONTACT:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Kim Waldron 415 264 2101 kimsftwa@igc.org

Cab Drivers Urge U.S. Mayors:

Don’t Let Uber Take You for a Ride

The San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance (SFTWA) will hold a series of protests against ride giant Uber at the National Conference of Mayors meeting in San Francisco. Uber is heavily involved in the conference, hosting a breakfast for mayors Sunday morning and a tour of its offices Monday afternoon.

SFTWA will talk to the press Saturday at 1 p.m. in front of conference headquarters, the San Francisco Hilton, to call attention to the harm Uber is causing in the U.S. and around the globe to workers, the environment and the disabled community.

The union will cap off its protests with a major rally at Uber headquarters, 1455 Market Street, on Monday from 2-5 p.m. Uber is one of three tech companies mayors will tour at that time.

The union will cap off its protests with a major rally at Uber headquarters, 1455 Market Street, on Monday from 2-5 p.m. Uber is one of three tech companies mayors will tour at that time.

“We will have a picket line at Uber headquarters, and cabs will be circling the block,” said taxi driver SFTWA Executive Board member Chakib Ayadi. "We strongly urge the mayors to respect the picket line and to boycott Sunday’s breakfast. “

Since Uber, Lyft and similar companies started operations, San Francisco has become the second most congested city in the country, according to tech products developer Tom Tom. Uber is being sued for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the California Labor Commissioner ruled this week that a driver for the company was an employee, not an independent contractor as the company claims.

“The phony ‘partnership’ model Uber uses is an assault on workers’ rights,” said Ruach Graffis, Taxi Driver Institute Director and SFTWA board member. “It substitutes precarious working arrangements for real jobs with real benefits and real worker protections.”

Uber’s global performance has been equally abysmal. It’s business model entails operating in violation of law in cities and countries on every continent. And it has committed a long series of ethical breaches and violations of customers’ privacy.

Despite its track record, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has embraced Uber and similar companies. Protesters will call attention to the mayor’s role in allowing Uber, Lyft and others to operate in San Francisco when they had no legal authority to do so, and to his refusal to bring them under local regulation.

“This is a company without conscience or scruple,” said Chakib Ayadi. “The list of illegal and unethical things they’ve done is staggering. Mayors should be aware of that, and keep their distance.”