One of the biggest risks to Uber and Lyft’s business right now is drivers. While the companies and investors have gotten rich, drivers seem to have been left behind. Today, I’ll be speaking with a member of an organization (Rideshare Drivers United) that is actually listening to drivers and fighting on their behalf.
If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.
Intro
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Welcome to episode 100! Goal for this year is to release a new podcast every week – so hopefully you’re enjoying this podcast so far, because there will be at least 100 more!
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Today I’m chatting with Nicole Moore of the Rideshare Drivers United (RDU) group about what it’s like organizing drivers, the organization’s goals and more
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We’ll also talk about the LA strike and striking in general, plus what drivers are hoping to get from the strikes
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Check out our latest sponsor: LISNR! LISNR makes safety for both drivers and passengers “dummy proof”
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LISNR makes it easier for drivers and passengers to locate and authenticate one another and is providing safety for drivers and TNCs like Uber and Lyft
Interview with Nicole Moore
- Nicole is a part-time Lyft driver and on the organizing committee of Rideshare Drivers United (RDU), a 5,000 member rideshare driver advocacy organization based in LA
- In addition to work as a driver/organizer, she’s also a Mom and has a full time job in healthcare
- Nicole’s favorite moment: the May 8 strike in LA – drivers worked together to make it successful
- Strike on May 8 was the second strike – lot of work to bring together, especially coordinating with LA airport police
Rideshare Drivers United (RDU)
- RDU members aren’t just full-time drivers – they’re also part-time drivers who’ve seen their wages decrease over the years and are frustrated by it
- People ask – why don’t striking drivers just quit? A lot of these drivers actually like driving + talking to people
- Myth that most drivers are driving for ‘beer money’ – many of them use rideshare to supplement their income or cover more expenses
- Nicole heard about RDU from a friend on Facebook – sounded like a good opportunity for drivers to organize themselves
Organizing Committee with RDU
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Nicole is on the organizing committee with RDU
- Made up entirely of drivers
- Tries to find members in person and online
- Drivers need to lead this movement – driver bill of rights, fair pair, transparency
Drivers’ Bill of Rights
- Fair pay – not being able to change rates overnight
- Working conditions
- Transparency – ability to see destination ahead of time
California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5)
- Basically would make drivers employees
- What’s happening right now isn’t working – drivers’ pay changes overnight, it’s almost impossible to contact Uber/Lyft, etc.
- AB5 is one of the best ways to get a lot of the demands on the driver bill of rights met
- Provides worker protections too, like unemployment
Future of AB5
- Drivers are worried about loss of flexibility – don’t want to lose that
- California governor hasn’t really taken a stand on AB5 yet
- Government’s job is to help, not to shy away from controversy – drivers are asking for a good standard of living
- Trying to make the economy work for regular people – that’s RDU’s fight
Outro
- Big thanks to Nicole for coming on the podcast, one of the things I like about RDU is that, you can see, it’s truly driver-led
- I recommend you go to their website, check out their driver bill of rights and let me know what you think (links below in Show Notes)
- I haven’t seen many organizations do what RDU is doing
- Can’t wait to see how this goes in the future
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Check out our latest sponsor: LISNR! LISNR makes safety for both drivers and passengers “dummy proof”
-
LISNR makes it easier for drivers and passengers to locate and authenticate one another and is providing safety for drivers and TNCs like Uber and Lyft
Show Notes
If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.
