Page 10 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 14, 2023 Over 500 Uber and Lyft drivers mobilize in largest app worker demonstration in Massachusetts history Drivers disrupted traffi c to demand lawmakers pass Rideshare Driver Justice Bill; drivers suffering under poverty earnings, system of job termination without due process, and lack of job protections I n a groundbreaking demonstration, over 500 Uber and Lyft drivers joined forces in the largest gathering of app workers in Massachusetts history to demand the freedom to unionize. Drivers’ anger has reached a fever pitch across the state as conditions worsen, and they voiced their frustrations with Uber and Lyft at Tuesday’s rally, the largest rideshare drivers’ rally to date after over two years of fi ghting for the right to form a union. Demonstrators took their frustrations directly to state lawmakers, calling for the passage of the Rideshare Driver Justice Bill. Filed as HD 1099 / SD 666, this historic legislation is the only bill before the State House that would provide Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts with essential job protections and the right to organize a union – and the only one backed by a driver-led coalition. “No matter what I do, I’m overworked and underpaid. It’s countless hours behind the wheel, worrying if I can pay for rent or buy food for my family,” said Betania Gonell, an Uber driver with the Massachusetts Machinists Union. “I’m proud to see so many Massachusetts Uber and Lyft drivers saying we have had enough. Now, we need Massachusetts legislators to hear our cries and fi - nally give us our voice through a union.” Reportedly, rideshare drivers have long suffered from poverty earnings, an unfair deactivation system, and a lack of basic job protections, despite generating billions of dollars annually for tech giants. With the support of the driver-led coalition Drivers Demand Justice – representing over 4,000 frontline drivers and several major Massachusetts labor unions – drivers sought to change that on Tuesday by encouraging passage of the Rideshare Drivers Justice bill. “I am only making a quarter of what I used to earn as a driver,” said Greater Boston rideshare driver Prisell Polanco, who joined the campaign through the efforts of 32BJ SEIU. “I was deactivated from Uber because it seems they thought I was in Florida when I was here in Massachusetts, and my income from Lyft has been steadily declining, even though I am driving 8 to 10 hours a day. My wife and I have three small children. How am I supposed to help support my family? We need legislators to hear our stories and pass this bill, so we can have a union to defend us, improve our pay, and allow us to continue providing this important service to customers across Massachusetts.” The Rideshare Driver Justice Bill would make Massachusetts the nation’s leader in worker rights within the appbased transportation industry. In addition to the provisions for rideshare drivers to directly access unionization and collective bargaining rights to negotiate fair pay, benefi ts and improved working conditions, it also ensures a guaranteed minimum rate of pay and provides state-sanctioned protections, such as unemployment insurance, discrimination protection, paid sick leave, workers’ compensation and paid family leave. These essential rights are currently inaccessible to rideshare drivers. Before setting off in a caravan to the State House, hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers gathered in Dorchester, chanting support for the bill. The demonstration included hundreds of rideshare drivers DEMONSTRATION | SEE PAGE 17
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