1,000 signatures reached
To: Mr. Khosrowshahi, CEO, Uber Technologies
Uber: Stop Slowing Down Unemployment for New York Drivers and Stop Lying To Us About Our Rights!
Together, drivers and our allies, write to demand that Uber stop misleading drivers about our right to unemployment benefits in New York State and to call on Uber to immediately provide our wage data to the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) so that our claims can be processed without delay. New York drivers don’t need to wait for the federal stimulus money to become available – we can get unemployment benefits RIGHT NOW.
But Uber is standing in our way. We are calling on Uber to inform drivers of this right so our brothers and sisters don’t take unnecessary risk, and to submit our earnings data so we don’t have to wait longer for our benefits, and so the Department of Labor is freed up to process other workers’ claims. The law is clear. Any delay in benefits during this pandemic could be a matter of life and death for Uber drivers.
But Uber is standing in our way. We are calling on Uber to inform drivers of this right so our brothers and sisters don’t take unnecessary risk, and to submit our earnings data so we don’t have to wait longer for our benefits, and so the Department of Labor is freed up to process other workers’ claims. The law is clear. Any delay in benefits during this pandemic could be a matter of life and death for Uber drivers.
Why is this important?
Today, as the COVID19 crisis rages through New York, Uber drivers, like many other gig workers, face unprecedented health risks and total financial ruin. At a moment of such crisis, Uber's actions are designed to confuse drivers about our immediate right to access NYS unemployment insurance and to obstruct quick delivery of those benefits.
Uber drivers are eligible for unemployment benefits in New York State RIGHT NOW. Three Uber driver members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance and all “similarly employed” drivers in New York State won the right to unemployment benefits in a final ruling in 2018. Uber did not appeal this ruling and it is now final.
Additionally, an upstate Uber driver, and all similarly employed upstate drivers have been found to be employees with a right to the state's unemployment insurance benefits. Since then, Uber drivers in New York State have applied for, and been paid out unemployment benefits. Yet, Uber has failed to provide the New York State Department of Labor with the wage data necessary to process driver claims quickly, heartlessly delaying payouts that drivers need to feed our families in a time of crisis.
A recent New York State Court of Appeals decision found Postmates to be an employer, as well. Uber knows its misclassification game is over. Uber needs to follow the law and start reporting its drivers' wages to NYS immediately.
But Uber continues to mislead drivers, telling us we need to wait for the federal pandemic unemployment assistance program to go into effect. That is a lie.
Any delay in benefits during this pandemic could be a matter of life and death for Uber drivers whose incomes have been decimated. We demand that Uber stop misleading drivers, inform all New York State drivers of our right to state unemployment benefits, and that Uber cooperate with the New York Department of Labor so that drivers can immediately receive the benefits we need to survive this crisis.
Photo credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Uber drivers are eligible for unemployment benefits in New York State RIGHT NOW. Three Uber driver members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance and all “similarly employed” drivers in New York State won the right to unemployment benefits in a final ruling in 2018. Uber did not appeal this ruling and it is now final.
Additionally, an upstate Uber driver, and all similarly employed upstate drivers have been found to be employees with a right to the state's unemployment insurance benefits. Since then, Uber drivers in New York State have applied for, and been paid out unemployment benefits. Yet, Uber has failed to provide the New York State Department of Labor with the wage data necessary to process driver claims quickly, heartlessly delaying payouts that drivers need to feed our families in a time of crisis.
A recent New York State Court of Appeals decision found Postmates to be an employer, as well. Uber knows its misclassification game is over. Uber needs to follow the law and start reporting its drivers' wages to NYS immediately.
But Uber continues to mislead drivers, telling us we need to wait for the federal pandemic unemployment assistance program to go into effect. That is a lie.
Any delay in benefits during this pandemic could be a matter of life and death for Uber drivers whose incomes have been decimated. We demand that Uber stop misleading drivers, inform all New York State drivers of our right to state unemployment benefits, and that Uber cooperate with the New York Department of Labor so that drivers can immediately receive the benefits we need to survive this crisis.
Photo credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
