Looking for a side hustle? Uber is not the way to go! A look at Uber’s Unfair Practices

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“We are the backbone of Uber’s business model, and we are tired of not receiving the respect and rights we deserve. The time for action is now.” Ejaz Butt (Toronto-area Uber Black Limousine driver and UFCW Union Member) 

So, you have decided that you want to take up a side hustle, and you catch an Uber commercial on television. It seems like a good idea; you can do it in your free time. I have some unfortunate news for you; you may want to rethink doing this.

This article is meant to educate anyone who might be thinking about working with Uber; there are some things that have been reported that do not shed Uber in a very positive light. After reading this article, if you are an Uber driver and have experienced anything similar to what is read, NOW is the time for you to speak up; write to your MP and speak out about it. It is the only way that anything will be done.

There have been several negative claims made against Uber about their unfair, and unjust practices. Under the guise of technological innovation, Uber has been allowed to relinquish any responsibility to its drivers, who as a direct result find themselves risking their health, safety, and basic human dignity.

There have been Uber drivers that claim they were fired after refusing unsafe work. In one case, a customer threatened to lodge a complaint against a driver and became violent after the driver asked her to wear a mask while she was in his vehicle. The driver phoned the police who had to remove the customer from the driver’s car.

In another incident, a driver refused to take four passengers in his vehicle as this violated Uber’s explicit COVID-19 safety regulations. The driver believes that the customer who ordered the trip retaliated against him by leaving a bad review and rating.

Drivers reported that they frequently had to deal with intoxicated and impaired customers who were rude, demanding and insulting. When they asked the riders to tone down their behaviour, the riders indicated that they would lodge a formal complaint against the drivers.

There have been other reports from drivers that despite having strong driving records and high customer ratings and reviews, they discovered that the Uber app had been deactivated from their phones following the complaints. They attempted to reach Uber support to dispute the complaints but were unable to learn more or tell their side of the story. Uber support did not follow up on requests for review or make further attempts to contact the drivers.

For all the drivers involved, working for Uber was their chief source of income. The drivers had been working as Uber drivers for several months without incident, and one had over 1,000 five-star reviews on his account. Being fired without investigation and with no protection has devastated these drivers, who rely on working for the app to support their families.

“I bought a new car, borrowed money from my friend and planned to start studying for my future, but my livelihood was stolen from me,” explained driver Bhupinder Singh. “It affected my mental health. I was a top star rating driver and completed more than 2,000 trips and with two false and angry customer accusations, Uber deactivated my account without proper investigation.”

Some UberEATS couriers were stuck earning as little as $3.99 per trip at the start of this year — down from about $10 per trip at the beginning of 2020 after the company lowered base compensation rates. Since most couriers averaged only two or three trips per hour, that put them significantly below Ontario’s minimum wage of $14 an hour.

I had the opportunity to personally speak with a community member who had been working with Uber for two years when he started to notice certain things that literally did not add up.

He has a friendly attitude, and enjoys dialogue, aspects of his character that he brings to his driving position at Uber. During a dialogue with a client one day, he learned something disturbing; his client told him that Uber charged him $50.00 for the drive, and when the driver reached the destination, Uber paid him his share for the drive, which came to $25.00.The driver showed his client what had been paid because they had been discussing this situation during the drive. The client was disgusted and told the driver that he was going to make a complaint.

Another issue that became noticeable is that he would travel twenty minutes from their location to pick up a client. They would then drive the client three minutes away, and only get paid for the three-minute drive. That three-minute payment does not take care of the gas, or time that it took to drive over twenty minutes to pick up the client. He also told me that when you get to your client, Uber gives them up to five minutes waiting time, also five minutes that drivers are not paid for. The rider has to pay for the waiting time, but the driver does not see a cent of that money.

They have a system set up that only allows you to see ahead of time where you will be dropping off your client if you pick up 85% of the clients that are called in, and that you actually pick up. You can’t cancel a ride, or reject a call; if you do it goes against you.

The driver felt that the government should know about the type of economical abuse that Uber drivers are going through.

Thankfully, there are a group of individuals who are standing up for the drivers. Since launching the Uber Drivers United (www.ufcw.ca/uber) campaign in 2019, UFCW has become the leading voice for app-based drivers in Canada, Uber Black drivers in Toronto, and is heading union organizing efforts in British Columbia, Alberta, as well as other parts of the country.

UFCW Canada is the country’s leading private sector union, representing more than 250,000 union members across Canada working in food retail and processing, transportation, health care, logistics, warehousing, agriculture, hospitality, manufacturing, and the security and professional sectors. UFCW is the country’s most innovative organization dedicated to building fairness in workplaces and communities.

“UFCW Canada stands with Uber and app-based drivers around the world in their call for respect and human dignity,” says Pablo Godoy, National Coordinator of Gig and Platform-Employer Initiatives at UFCW Canada. “Both Uber and our governments must be held to account when it comes to protecting workers in the gig economy. We are calling on all activists and allies to support this action to shed light on the Uber drivers who are fighting for their health, safety, labour, and union rights.”

UFCW 1518 is taking the cases of several Uber Drivers to the BC Labour Relations Board by filing an unfair labour practice complaint against giant tech corporation Uber.

Actions the drivers are demanding from Uber:

• End unfair deactivation of driver’s accounts
• Access to data and transparency
• End the unfair rating system
• Provide better health and safety for drivers
• Employment rights (end misclassification of drivers)
• Respect City of Toronto bylaws

Currently, Uber workers in Canada are classified as independent contractors, meaning they decide when to work and what work to do. However, this “flexibility” comes with enormous costs. In Ontario, for example, these contractors have no legal right to a minimum wage, sick days, collective bargaining rights, or breaks.

Uber passes on an employer’s usual costs to its workers, and this leaves them responsible for tasks like vehicle maintenance. This structure of employment has been massively profitable for Uber. The United Food And Commercial Workers union noted that Uber rakes in most of its revenue from the value of the service its drivers provide. The company has the power to terminate those drivers and can to a large degree dictate the terms of their employment. Yet it doesn’t have to pay them a minimum wage or risk ceding any of its power to a union.

In 2020, while many of the company’s workers reported a drop in their compensation rates, Uber chalked up a significant revenue increase. According to Uber’s most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, while its “mobility revenue” fell, its delivery revenue — “partially offset” by incentives for “delivery people” — increased by $2.5 billion last year.

How has Uber responded to this? They have come up with the Uber, Flexible Work+ plan, which they claim will offer a modern approach to app-based work in Canada. The plan has two key components. The first involves “self-directed benefits,” whereby workers “accrue” funds commensurate to their hours worked in a “flex package.” The workers will supposedly be able to direct this package toward paid time off, education expenses, or insurance.

The second component involves “enhanced worker protections,” described as “training and tools.” Uber claims that this new plan, which looks suspiciously like the old plan, is beneficial to workers.

The union is seeking changes to the Employment Standards Act to enable app-based contract workers like Uber drivers to join a union and receive other basic protections. In a letter to Labour Minister Harry Bains and Parliamentary Secretary Adam Walker, UFCW 1518 asked that the Government of British Columbia amend the Employment Standards Act to enable app-based contract workers like Uber drivers to join a union, classify them as employees and allow them to receive other basic protections.

UFCW 1518 has been working with Uber drivers and other workers in the gig economy to fight for more fairness, better wages, and safer conditions for precarious workers. To find out more about UFCW and its ground-breaking work, visit www.ufcw.ca.