Opinion: Uber doesn’t care about drivers

Originally appeared in The New York Times

To the Editor:

Trumpeting support for legislation requiring benefits for gig workers, then lobbying to minimize required contributions and the number of workers who qualify, is a public relations tactic to prevent legislation classifying workers as employees.

Benefits for gig workers is a bad-faith promise Uber has been making for more than three years. Pending legislation proposes only bare-bones benefits for a small minority of workers.

The California ballot initiative, for instance, pays only part of even a bronze Affordable Care Act plan for drivers working more than 15 hours a week on a single platform.

In Washington State, proposed legislation set company contributions toward benefits at 15 percent of total fees collected. Gig companies lobbied and negotiated their contributions down to 5 percent. This barely funds vision, dental and workers’ compensation insurance and is insufficient to finance health insurance or meaningful retirement savings.

Alissa Orlando
Brooklyn
The writer is a co-founder of IndyHub, a portable benefits platform, and a former Uber employee.