Page 12 THE REVERE 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 suff ered 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 holding signs stating “JUSTICE CAN’T WAIT! FREEDOM TO UNIONIZE NOW” and a prominent banner stating “PASS THE RIDESHARE DRIVER JUSTICE BILL.” As the caravan reached Beacon Hill, cosponsors, labor leaders and community representatives gathered with drivers on the State House steps to urge passage of the legislation, beginning with State Senators Jason Lewis and Liz Miranda, who jointly introduced the bill. Participants at the rally included Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, the International Association of Machinists, the Chinese Progressive Association, the True Alliance Center, the Merrimack Valley Project and the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “Despite what Uber and Lyft want you to believe, these are not side gigs to pad a regular paycheck,” said Senator Lewis. “Drivers count on the stability and security of their earnings to survive, just like passengers count on the skills and dedication of their drivers to get where they’re going promptly and safely, said Senator Lewis. “We need to give drivers the freedom to unionize, as well as basic workplace protections, so that the rideshare industry in Massachusetts can remain as dependable as it has always been, simple and fl exible.” “Rideshare and delivery drivers in Massachusetts are predominantly black and brown and many of them are immigrants – populations with a long history of exploitation,” said Senator Miranda. “Without our support, drivers will continue to lack even the most basic protections to keep themselves safe and to ensure they can provide for themselves and their families. The bill sets a fl oor by providing employment standards like unemployment insurance and a minimum compensation. And by allowing drivers to form a union, it also provides them the means to raise that fl oor in the future.” “I stand with the tens of thousands of immigrant drivers who have endured a second-class existence long enough,” said Matt Parker of Union of Minority Neighborhoods. “Without union rights, these workers are subjected to wages that often plunge beneath the state’s minimum threshold, denied access to fundamental benefits like healthcare and unemployment support, and, in the worst cases, unjustly fi red, leaving them stranded, unable to provide for their families. This exploitative system can be transformed; it’s within the legislators’ power to do so.” “The Rideshare Driver Justice Bill follows in the footsteps of previous Massachusetts legislation that has previously granted other workers the right to form a union, including homecare workers,” said State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier. “Uber and Lyft drivers must be provided the same protections as any other worker in our state. And it’s our duty to act now before the rideshare industry attempts to buy our state with the bogus ballot question they tried to pass last year that would severely undercut protections for an already underprotected workforce.” Uber and Lyft drivers face substantial fi nancial hardships due to diminishing earnings resulting from increased commissions and enduring infl ation. AdDRIVERS | SEE Page 13 Project Bread Launches Council of People with Lived Experience Massachusetts’ leading anti-hunger nonprofi t is seeking community members to play a key role in long-term hunger solutions P eople struggling without enough to eat are often left out of the process to build solutions to end hunger. Project Bread, the state’s leading anti-hunger organization, has launched a new Council of People with Lived Experience dedicated to changing that. The Council will uniquely engage 8 to 10 individuals facing food insecurity in conversations and bring their experience to shape the resources and policies that directly impact them. Now, the nonprofit needs the public’s help. Project Bread is seeking individuals to contribute their expertise and co-create programs and policies that will make it easier for others living in Massachusetts to access and aff ord food with dignity. Council Members will have the opportunity to be part of strategy development, planning, and decision-making that will strengthen their leadership skills, build their expertise as a community leader and advocate, and provide signifi cant value in co-creating impactful and eff ective solutions to food insecurity. “We believe that experts with lived experiences in food insecurity as co-creators in our work will help achieve sustainable and systemic solutions to end hunger in Massachusetts,” says Project Bread Vice President of Engagement, Catalina LópezOspina, a Colombian immigrant who’s seen food insecurity in her own family and made it a mission in her work. “Members of the Council can become a leader in their community with access to Project Bread’s network and wealth of resources that we’ve built in our more than 50 years of experience. With Council Members serving as a sounding board in our pursuit of new hunger solutions, we here at Project Bread couldn’t be more excited for the growth we will accomplish.” Individuals who speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Vietnamese and Haitian Creole are needed. Experts will serve on the Council for 10 months, from October 2023 through July 2024, and will commit 10 hours of engagement per month: three hours participating in monthly face-to-face meetings to discuss current issues with experts in the fi eld, and sharpen their civic and community engagement skills and seven hours collaborating on Project Bread key projects, participating in community events and forums and working with different teams within the organization. Members will be compensated for their time and commitment. Individuals who apply and are accepted to the Council of Experts with Lived Experiences are expected to act as anti-hunger ambassadors in their communities, and to be ready to fully engage and network within the program. Eligibility requirements: • You are 17 years old or older • You live in Massachusetts • You have experienced in the past or are currently experiencing food insecurity • You are ready to use your lived experience expertise to inform solutions to prevent hunger and make it easier for others living in Massachusetts to access and afford food with dignity • You want to develop skills to be an eff ective advocate and community leader in the work to solve hunger Applications will be accepted through Aug. 29, 2023. For more information and to apply to become a member of Project Bread’s Council of Lived Experience, visit https://www.projectbread.org/council-of-experts. About Project Bread Project Bread, the leading statewide anti-hunger nonprofi t, connects people and communities in Massachusetts to reliable sources of food while advocating for policies that make food more accessible – so that no one goes hungry. For more information, visit www.projectbread.org.
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