This article was produced by the nonprofit journalism organization Capital & Main and is republished here with permission. 

On a hot June morning, a small group of rideshare drivers gathered at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, carrying piles of red, white, and blue leaflets that called for an end to “unfair deactivations.” Similar actions took place at Denver International Airport and Uber’s Greenlight Hub in San Jose, California. Together, drivers in these three locations launched the Activate Respect campaign, aiming to combat what workers refer to as being “fired by an app.”

This three-city event is part of a larger national movement to transform rideshare jobs into better employment opportunities. “Connecting drivers across various cities can be very powerful,” stated Mariah Montgomery, national campaigns director at PowerSwitch Action, an advocacy group based in Oakland, California. Such connections allow workers to share insights based on their experiences, both positive and negative, enriching efforts across different locations.

While local initiatives have primarily focused on enhancing the working conditions for drivers at platforms like Lyft and Uber, Activate Respect signifies an emerging strategy to unify driver demands across multiple regions. Organized by PowerSwitch Action, the campaign addresses the issue of drivers losing access to their work accounts—an issue commonly faced in various locations. Montgomery noted that by observing trends in different regions, drivers can engage in meaningful discussions and collaborations.

PowerSwitch Action began taking shape in 2021 during discussions about drivers’ challenges with the Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE) and other organizations. In 2023, alongside ACRE and Gig Workers Rising, they released a comprehensive report highlighting the fatalities of rideshare drivers on the job. They also organized a National Day of Action, raising awareness of drivers’ safety issues. Activate Respect aims to elevate this mission by pushing for specific demands—such as transparency and accountability surrounding deactivations—in multiple locations.

Activists are optimistic that the campaign can leverage recent local victories.

In 2024, Minnesota and Colorado made significant strides with new legislation for rideshare drivers. Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, signed a bill establishing a minimum wage for rideshare drivers following nearly two years of advocacy from the Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association, which gained national attention. Additionally, Colorado passed a law in June requiring companies to publicly disclose fare rates, driver wages, and deactivation policies after a campaign by Colorado Independent Drivers United.

In a statement to Capital & Main, Uber mentioned that the Minnesota legislation signifies a fresh perspective on the gig economy, shifting focus toward benefits and protections rather than employment classification.

Regarding the new Colorado law, Uber noted, “We are grateful that Colorado Independent Drivers United could make such significant compromises,” but added that the law might have “unintended consequences for both drivers and riders,” without specifying what those might be.

In Washington state, rideshare drivers associated with Teamsters Local 117 made significant progress in securing rights in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, they successfully advocated for a new pay standard, paid sick leave, and workers’ compensation. This year, they also achieved a historic win by obtaining death benefits under workers’ compensation—reported to be a first in the nation. Additionally, Washington drivers can now lodge complaints against rideshare companies and challenge deactivations, with enforcement by the state’s Department of Labor and Industries.

Uber expressed support for drivers maintaining their status as independent contractors while receiving added protections. The company commended the commitment from all involved parties to remain engaged in negotiations and described the resulting legislation as a potential model for “cities, states, and countries worldwide.”

Uber and Lyft have consistently opposed local movements aimed at establishing worker protections. For instance, in California, gig workers, including rideshare drivers, worked alongside organizations like the California Gig Workers Union and Gig Workers Rising to secure protections under AB5, a law that came into effect in January 2020, reclassifying some contractors as employees and mandating companies to uphold their working conditions. However, Uber and Lyft collaborated with other industry players to overturn this in November by promoting Proposition 22, a voter-initiated amendment that allowed them to maintain the independent contractor classification for rideshare workers. Similarly, drivers in New York City achieved essential protections last year but continue to confront new tactics employed by companies to minimize payments.

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Uber has disclosed that, as of April 2024, it has allocated over $1 billion to benefits under Prop 22 for drivers and couriers in California, but has refrained from providing any additional comments regarding its position on the legislation.

Montgomery pointed out that rideshare companies have created strategies for countering worker protections and managing the risk of regulations. For instance, both Uber and Lyft have temporarily halted services or threatened to withdraw from areas where regulatory scrutiny is expected to grow, such as Austin, Texas; Chicago; Minneapolis; and states like California and Arizona.

According to Katie Wells, a postdoctoral Fritz Fellow with the Tech & Society initiative at Georgetown University and co-author of Disrupting D.C.: The Rise of Uber and the Fall of the City, rideshare drivers often face challenges in organizing across different cities due to their physical separation. Unlike traditional taxi drivers, who frequently meet at centralized locations, rideshare drivers rarely cross paths. “The fact that some individuals are managing to unite and organize is truly noteworthy,” noted Wells.

“One key reason this is crucial is that regulators aren’t effectively standing up to these corporations, leaving us no other options. All these groups must unite to assert that Silicon Valley cannot dictate terms unchallenged,” Wells added.

Chicago drivers collaborate across state borders

An example of successful collaboration across state lines can be seen with drivers in Chicago. Working alongside The People’s Lobby and the local chapter of the Gig Alliance, rideshare drivers have been advocating for the Chicago Rideshare Living Wage and Safety Ordinance since 2022. This proposed citywide legislation aims to increase driver pay, limit the profits corporations can make from passenger fares, and standardize notification processes for driver deactivations, among other safeguards. However, they are not alone in these efforts.

In recent years, PowerSwitch Action has informally aimed to connect rideshare drivers across various cities and states, as stated by Jeff Barrera, the communication director at the organization. This inter-city collaboration gained momentum last fall, according to J.C. Muhammad, a part-time rideshare driver and full-time organizer at The People’s Lobby.

This collaboration ignited last fall when California drivers from Gig Workers Rising traveled to Chicago to meet local drivers. For Jose Gazo, a San Francisco driver, this was his first visit to the city, which was exhilarating for him. Before an official meeting, Gazo assisted in inviting local drivers to gather, emphasizing he was there to learn about their experiences in the industry.

The group traveled across the country and spent a few hours engaging with other drivers at O’Hare airport, encouraging them to write letters in support of the Chicago rideshare ordinance and to participate in an upcoming campaign against unjust deactivations, according to Lori Simmons, a gig worker organizer with The People’s Lobby in Chicago.

During their discussions, drivers discovered numerous commonalities, particularly concerning a decline in pay.

“We all have different initiatives in various cities targeting pay issues,” said Muhammad, the Chicago driver who met with California drivers. Another Chicago driver, Joe Negrau, who volunteers for the Chicago Gig Alliance, has been tracking his earnings from 2021 to 2023. He reported earning $2.70 per mile from Uber in 2021 before expenses, but only $1.55 per mile in 2023. A recent pay study from the City of Chicago revealed that around two-thirds (65.3%) of full-time rideshare drivers earned between $31 and $40 on average for each hour spent driving passengers, which fell to between $18.90 and $27.90 after accounting for expenses.

Similar findings were observed in California. A survey by the California Gig Workers Union of 658 Southern California drivers conducted from March to April 2022 indicated that 85% of participants reported that surging gas prices significantly impacted their earnings. Many also struggled to afford basic living expenses, with 82% citing housing, 60% utility bills, 59% food, and 23% medical costs as ongoing challenges.

In their conversations, the drivers recognized that low pay was not their only shared concern. They also faced worrying incidents of customer attacks and a lack of recourse after unexpected deactivations.

“The next major issue that we need to address on a national level is deactivations,” Muhammad emphasized.

In March, Chicago rideshare drivers traveled to San Jose to coordinate with the Gig Workers Alliance and Colorado Independent Drivers United to strategize for the upcoming year, according to Simmons. That meeting resulted in a focus on fighting against unfair deactivations, which led to the creation of the Activate Respect campaign.

Since then, drivers have continued to meet across different cities, as Simmons noted.

In response to inquiries from Capital & Main about various emerging rideshare and gig work laws across states, a spokesperson from Lyft stated, “What we’ve observed over recent years is a shift in public dialogue from questioning if drivers should be classified as employees to discussing the most effective ways to establish protections and benefits that are suitable for the rideshare context. Thus, we’ve seen negotiations for compromises in locations like Washington, Minnesota, and Colorado, where companies, labor leaders, drivers, and officials are trying to come together to find common ground.”

The Lyft spokesperson elaborated, “While not all solutions have been ideal, they have demonstrated that we can enhance the driver experience on the platform without compromising the flexibility and independence that attract many people to this type of work.”

Montgomery remarked that collaborating across cities empowers drivers by fostering a sense of community among them when facing powerful rideshare companies.

“While organizing may occur in different locations, our ultimate aim is to secure uniformly good jobs,” Montgomery concluded. “In the end, drivers, regardless of their location, are entitled to fair pay, respect, job security, and safety in their work environments.”

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