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Uber’s history isn’t a great one: a sexist workplace culture, evasion of regulations (and regulators), and denial of fair pay, benefits, and rights to workers. But in 2017, the company’s top brass promised it would change. Travis Kalanick was replaced as CEO by Dara Khosrowshahi with a pledge to clean up the culture, be more open with cities, and do right by the drivers, without whom there is no Uber. But two years later, it’s abundantly clear those promises were little more than a public relations stunt to bring an end to the #DeleteUber campaign that caused hundreds of thousands of users to delete the app and deactivate their accounts. Jurisdictions are moving forward with regulations that would finally grant drivers the rights they’ve so long been denied, forcing Uber’s mask off once again. California’s passage of Assembly Bill 5 (AB-5) would effectively force Uber and its many “gig economy” imitators to recognize their workers as employees and, unsurprisingly, they’re doing everything they can stop it. It’s time to bring back the #DeleteUber campaign for good this time — and expand it to Lyft, DoorDash, and all the rest.

Uber Is a Terrible Company Much of the criticism of Uber revolves around the treatment of its workers — and for good reason; it’s horrible. But the extent of its negative social impacts is far greater than most people often realize. It would take a book to draw them out in the detail they deserve, and luckily Mike Isaac’s recently released Super Pumped does just that. It’s worth highlighting some of the worst actions exposed in its pages. Uber’s workplace practices were fueled by an abusive culture that came from the very top, and it ensured that men in positions of power within the company didn’t face consequences for their actions. Isaac describes how Kalanick wanted to avoid feeling like a big company, and that meant the human resources department did little more than recruit new employees, including using an algorithm to determine “the lowest possible salary a candidate might accept.” Sexism was rampant within the company, and when women made complaints, they were told it was the perpetrator’s first offence, no action would be taken against them, and the women were offered to find new positions within the company. They later discovered a pattern of sexist behavior by certain managers, and Susan Fowler’s explosive public letter helped put the nail in Kalanick’s coffin. That was just one group of people hurt by Kalanick’s pursuit of growth at all costs. Some were much more severe. The story of a woman who was raped by an Uber driver in India in 2014 went viral in 2017 after she discovered the company obtained her medical records to try to discredit her. But the suit was part of a systemic problem. Uber made it incredibly easy for drivers to sign up — its background checks are still seen to be inadequate — and that meant people who would’ve been excluded from driving taxis were giving rides on Uber, leading to thousands of cases of sexual assault and harassment. But the company didn’t feel empathy for these victims. Instead, Isaac writes, “Kalanick felt it was Uber that was being prosecuted” when a new accusation was made against a driver, and whenever a case was dropped “a round of cheers would ring out across the fifth floor of Uber HQ.” This horrible disregard for human life went even further. As Uber started cutting into the business of taxi drivers in Mexico, people responded by beating, robbing, and eventually murdering Uber drivers. Things were even worse in Brazil. Uber entered in the midst of all-time high unemployment in 2015, allowed people to pay in cash because credit cards weren’t common, and made it so easy for drivers to sign up they only had to provide an email address or a phone number. Uber drivers were then targeted by thieves and taxi cartels, and at least sixteen drivers were murdered before headquarters finally decided to do something about it. The executive team’s indifference to the suffering of their workers, both at its various global headquarters and in vehicles around the world, is a fundamental part of the company’s DNA. Kalanick, an Ayn Rand-loving libertarian, didn’t just want to win at any cost. Isaac explains his evasion of regulations that applied to other companies also had a strategic goal: deregulation.