Senator Markey Leads Colleagues in Demanding App-Based Delivery Companies Prioritize Driver Safety Following Worker Deaths

More than 50 app-based workers have been killed on the job since 2017 while companies refuse to institute adequate safety protocols

Washington (June 1, 2022) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) led five of their colleagues in sending letters today to the CEOs of Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Grubhub, and Instacart stressing the need for app-based delivery companies to prioritize the health and safety of their app-based workers, and to answer for their lack of transparency and accountability in addressing the dangers of ride-share driving and delivery. The letters follow a recent report, published by advocacy group Gig Workers Rising, which found that at least 50 app-based workers have been killed on the job in the United States since 2017, and that 63 percent of the app-based workers killed in the last five years were people of color. In spite of these dangers, the companies have refused to disclose sufficient information regarding attacks on their workers.

“The app-based delivery business model increases the danger,” the lawmakers wrote in their letters to the CEOs of Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Grubhub, and Instacart. “Many app-based delivery companies are known to have tracked their drivers’ cancellation and acceptance rates, and penalized drivers for cancelling or not accepting rides. No driver should face punishment for legitimately declining a ride or delivery they believe would place them in a dangerous situation. Higher pay would also reduce the pressure on drivers to accept rides they deem unsafe.”

“App-based delivery workers are some of the most vulnerable workers in our economy, but [the companies have] not sufficiently protected and supported them in the face of a global pandemic, increasing violence, and economic instability,” the lawmakers continued. “Your refusal to grant them basic insurance and benefits, even in the face of death on the job, and despite their key role in your business, is unacceptable.”

A copy of the letters can be found HERE.

The lawmakers requested the app-based delivery companies’ CEOs provide a response to the letters by June 22nd, specifically:

1. How and when the company classifies an app-based delivery worker as ‘working,’
2. Information on worker safety incidents over the past five years,
3. If app-based delivery workers are notified of ongoing on-the-job emergencies or dangerous situations that could affect their health or safety,
4. If family members or next of kin are notified if an app-based delivery worker dies on the job,
5. If any compensation has been paid to, or if a company insurer paid any claim on behalf of, an app-based delivery worker or their family for an on-the-job injury or death,
6. If the company offers occupational injury protection or accident protection to its app-based delivery workers, and
7. If app-based delivery workers are required to sign an arbitration agreement to work.

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D.Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Representatives Stephen Lynch (MA-08) and Seth Moulton (MA-06) joined the letters.

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