App companies like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash have policies that put drivers and delivery workers under constant threat of “deactivation.” For app workers, this is the equivalent of immediate firing. The current process allows for deactivation without cause and with no chance to defend yourself, ultimately resulting in app workers losing their entire income at a moment’s notice.
While there are certainly valid reasons for deactivation in some cases, because the app companies make deactivation decisions without input from the driver or delivery worker, many are unwarranted and all implemented without due process. Since COVID-19, rideshare drivers have faced deactivation due to asking passengers to wear a mask. Delivery workers, who did countless deliveries to home-bound and vulnerable people during the height of COVID, have shared stories of being deactivated over the food being the wrong temperature or the restaurant forgetting part of the order.
Miscommunications, language barriers, or even purposely false accusations can cause app workers to lose their job without warning or chance to tell their side of the story. Take Naveen Ali, a former Lyft driver in Chicago, who has been deactivated since 2019 due to a negative review from a passenger who was angry that Ali had to pick up a second passenger during a shared ride. In what other industry are workers so unprotected that one, possibly unfounded claim can destroy your livelihood? It’s just wrong!
This is why Justice for App Workers is fighting to ensure that drivers and delivery workers have due process in all deactivation cases. We deserve the ability to share our side of the story and to be protected from losing our livelihoods without just cause.
Join us in our fight to end unfair deactivation for ALL app workers.
Twitter: @StandWithJFAW
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