Drivers March in San Francisco to Fight Unfair Deactivations

For every driver on the road, there is a constant feeling in the back of our minds, “Is today the day that I could be deactivated? Will today be the day I get a customer who doesn’t like me, who will leave a bad review and suddenly leave me out of a job? Will I have to spend days or even weeks fighting to get my job back, while my savings run out?” It is this uncertainty that we all face that brought drivers from across the country together to march on Lyft and Uber HQ on Wednesday, October 9th. 

Deactivation is the second biggest driver issue after pay, and it affects drivers from across the country. In a 2022 study conducted by RDU, we found that 40% of all drivers have faced either a temporary or permanent deactivation from the platform, with drivers of color disproportionately affected. Drivers are given little to no information about why we have been removed from the platform and expected to defend ourselves against these claims without even knowing what we are being accused of. 

Drivers from Gig Workers Rising, Chicago Gig Alliance, Colorado Independent Drivers United, Gig Workers Union, and Rideshare Drivers United marched side by side with a single message to the companies - end the unfair deactivations! From the remains of the old Mission Bay cargo terminal, dozens of drivers took to the streets, flying banners and chanting “No Drivers, No Lyft, No Drivers, No Uber!” as they marched across the 4th street bridge to Lyft HQ. Behind them, a caravan of rideshare cars, honking in beat with the chants, as drivers looked up at the Lyft staff who watched from the windows, shouting “SHAME ON YOU!” 

The protest then turned south towards Uber HQ, chants echoing along 4th street buildings, energy building as drivers arrived in front of the gray corporate offices. The caravan drivers left their cars on the street and joined the mass of marchers in front of Uber’s door, demanding to speak with those inside about the uncertainty and injustice that drivers endure making the whole company function. 

Drivers from the different organizations lined up, sharing their stories about suddenly being knocked off the platform, and the struggle to get the companies to recognize the pain they had caused. Ibrahim Diallo, an RDU member from San Francisco who was deactivated from Uber last year, spoke of his experience. “When I was deactivated, the company couldn’t even be consistent in telling me why I was deactivated. At first they told me it was over tickets, but the story kept changing.... Prop 22 is really broken, and drivers need new rules that protect our dignity!” 

Ibrahim is right, drivers need new rules that protect our dignity and prevent algorithms from arbitrarily firing us without just-cause.

Without rules that ensure we are aware of why we are being deactivated and given an opportunity to state our case, without assurances that we won’t lose money when we are falsely accused, we will continue to live in fear that today may be the day we have our lives turned upside down over one customer complaint.

It is only by coming together, like drivers did on the streets of San Francisco, that we can FIGHT for a better way, and fight for an industry where all drivers are treated with the dignity and respect we deserve.