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Josh Golden never understood why Lyft had forbidden him to work as a driver for 10 days, but he thinks a passenger may have accused him of being drunk, even though he is a Mormon who does not touch never to alcohol. Eleisha Redmond knew why Uber was blocking her – her Daly City driver assistance center said it was a technical problem affecting thousands of drivers – but that's not the case. He did not facilitate the task of not being at work for nearly four weeks. Anthony Maloco finally discovered why Uber had launched it – he was updating his background check – but he never knew why it was taking almost seven weeks.
All were "disabled" – the language of Uber and Lyft being fired. In the world of easy-going concerts, workers can be disabled by clicking a button or, most often, with the soulless calculations of an algorithm. Because drivers are not employees, they do not benefit from unemployment coverage. Some say that they do not know why they have the ax and do not have a clear path to plead their case. For people who live from one paycheck to another, losing days or weeks of work can be devastating.
Lawyers say the problem highlights the precarious nature of work in concerts, in which the whims of passengers and companies can dictate the future of drivers. Deactivations can follow a complaint from a single passenger, even if there are serious problems such as dangerous driving or sexual advances. They can occur when companies conduct annual or random background checks if certain documents are missing. They can occur when the number of stars of drivers is too low or their cancellation rate is too high. (A single rating, the lowest of the five-star system used by both companies, will not result in deactivation.)
Uber and Lyft say that the deactivations help them to ensure safety. They stated that they were investigating complaints and forbidding drivers to carry out acts of violence, discrimination, foul language, illegal behavior and other egregious offenses. If companies can not justify the complaints, they reinstate the suspended drivers, they said.
Golden, Redmond and Maloco were eventually reinstated, but Redmond was late on paying for a rental car used to drive his vehicle and the latter was taken over. Golden had also rented a car as part of a partnership with Lyft, which he had partly converted at the time of his deactivation. Maloco, 70, who relies heavily on Uber to supplement his social security, has fallen behind on his rent.
"They do not take into account that it's our livelihood," said 43-year-old Redmond. With her husband, a taxi driver, she supports three children in San Francisco. "They said that they were sorry, but there should be some sort of restitution."
Deactivation has long been a scourge for drivers, who claim to live in fear of being put on shoes without trial. On Friday, a new group of pilots called Gig Workers Rising handed over a petition signed by more than 3,200 drivers at Uber headquarters in San Francisco (it is also addressed to Lyft). The petition called for a meeting to develop policies on deactivation, including a transparent appeal process, ways to protect against passenger prejudices and clearly defined rules for triggering immediate deactivation.
The delivery of the petition escalated into violence when a security guard attacked the driver Thom Hoffman outside Uber's Market Street headquarters, throwing him to the ground and tearing his hat and his clothes off. glasses. Uber said the guard was working for a contractor and had been on leave during the investigation.
"They really have to have guidelines," said Golden. "Three days, it's long without work. If they could pledge not to investigate more than 48 hours, it would help. "
"Workers want a voice," said Liam Kelly, a spokesperson for Working Partnerships USA, an alliance of San Jose-based community workers who support Gig Workers Rising. "For the moment, it's a one-way system. They want more transparency, a way to know immediately what caused the deactivation and a legitimate appeal process. The burden of proof is on the accused, which does not seem very fair. "
But Uber and Lyft said they have clear rules online and in their applications regarding prohibited behavior. The two said that they told the drivers why they had been banned, unless the law enforcement authorities decided otherwise. Drivers can call by calling support lines 24/7, sending an e-mail, sending in-app messages, or visiting the driver assistance centers in person. To protect the privacy of passengers, companies do not tell drivers who have complained about this information.
Both said they have teams to investigate the complaints and try to resolve the issues as quickly as possible. Neither one nor the other offer compensation to drivers for missed earnings during deactivation.
Companies have indicated that immediate deactivations only respond to the most serious complaints. For problems such as the low number of stars or the cancellation of too many trips, they give drivers many chances to improve before they turn them off, they said.
"The safety of the Lyft community is our top priority," spokeswoman Lauren Alexander said in an email. "When we receive information alleging security or discrimination issues, we often disable accounts during investigations. When appropriate, we work quickly to reactivate drivers and passengers and put them back on the road. "
"We understand that this can be frustrating, but decisions to block access to our app are made in accordance with our community's guidelines and to maintain the safety of runners and drivers," said a spokesperson for the company. 39, Uber in an email.
But some drivers said the policies were too vague and indicated that investigations could be assigned to disputes in which the passenger's word could take precedence.
"I think they are flying over the surface," said San Francisco's Rebecca Stack-Martinez, who drives for both services and was not turned off, but said she knows 20 drivers. "They leave a lot of leeway on their side."
Maloco said he had discovered that it was disabled only when he could not log on to the application last November. He went to the Daly City Support Center and was told that his annual background check was being updated and that he should just wait. He kept coming back and finally insisted on talking to a supervisor and explaining how devastating the loss of income was. She reinstated him.
"I think that they should inform the driver before you disable; give us a chance so that we do not have to run and beg, "he said.
Drivers have developed informal mechanisms to protect themselves. Those who learn that they have been accused of being intoxicated can immediately go to the nearest police station and ask for a breathalyzer test, for example.
Deactivations are pretty common, said Harry Campbell, a Los Angeles pilot who runs The Rideshare Guy's blog and podcast and made a video about the problem.
"Passengers can report that the driver was intoxicated, the car smelled of marijuana," he said. "A passenger can do this for a number of reasons, but I imagine there are many more false charges than real ones. Passengers may be trying to get a free ride, they can be drunk themselves. "
Shannon Liss-Riordan, a Boston lawyer who filed a class action suit against Lyft and Uber to obtain employee status for drivers, said deactivation was a major concern for her clients, who feared that companies "unilaterally determine that they have done wrong". ability to defend oneself. "
She negotiated an agreement with Uber to set up a deactivation appeal panel involving Uber drivers, but the case was unsuccessful because one judge ruled that compensation payments to drivers was too much low. Its settlement with Lyft, which has been implemented, "restricts Lyft's ability to terminate its duties without cause, but does not include an appeal board," she said.
In Golden's case, he remembers taking a drunk passenger the night he was disabled. He thinks that the smell of alcohol may be dragged in his car, which has caused the next runner to complain.
"People will say," You're intoxicated, I felt alcohol "just to win a free ride," Redmond said. "If you're disabled, you feel a little used."
Carolyn Said is a writer at the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @caid
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