Hartford Business Journal

16 Hartford Business Journal • June 17, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com W hen Guilford resi- dent Carlos Gomez started working for Uber about three years ago, driving for 10 hours usually netted him about $250. These days, it can be more like $120. "From 2016, Uber would usually take 20 to 25 percent of whatever the total amount was," Gomez said. "Now it's starting to look like they're taking between 50 and 60 percent." That's why Gomez, 45, and other or- ganizers of Connecticut Drivers United, a loosely affiliated group of about 200 rideshare drivers across the state, pushed for a bill in the state legislature this year that would have, among other things, limited to 25 percent the amount companies like Uber and Lyft can take from each fare. Another proposal would have established a minimum per-mile, per-minute driver earnings rate. But as many labor advocates cheered passage of a statewide mini- mum wage increase (to $15 per hour by 2023), the rideshare bills this year failed with little fanfare. However, the issue has been gaining momentum nationally and is likely to stick around in Connecticut. Last month, Uber drivers in more than a dozen U.S. cities — including Stamford — participated in a one-day demonstra- tion calling for better working condi- tions and more transparency in the ridesharing company's pay structure. A 2018 study by the Economic Policy Institute found that Uber drivers were earning less than their respective state minimum wage in 13 of 20 major markets. Uber has pushed back against such studies, instead pointing to a 2016 paper — co-authored by its own research director along with recently deceased Princeton economist Alan B. Krueger — which found drivers in Uber's 20 largest markets had average earnings of $19.04 per hour. New York City may be one of the best examples of driver activism pro- ducing results. Policymakers there raised rideshare drivers' minimum wage to $27.86 per hour, or $17.22 after expenses, effec- tive Jan. 2019. The city also capped the number of drivers rideshare compa- nies may hire in the city, a move aimed at easing traffic congestion. Though Connecticut didn't change its laws this session, Gomez said he isn't giving up. Connecticut Drivers United plans to continue to work with labor unions and legal aid attorneys to improve Connecticut drivers' pay and work protections, he said, admitting it's been a challenge convincing other drivers to join in the pursuit. "It takes time, and it takes some money, too, and it's something that hap- pens little by little," Gomez said. "It's a lot of work to convince people that there could be a light at the end of the tunnel." Connecticut Drivers United first co- alesced around a protest held at New Haven's Union Station last December, said James Bhandary-Alexander, a staff attorney at the New Haven Legal Assistance Association, who serves as the group's legal counsel. Since then, the group has been oper- ating with a multipronged approach, Bhandary-Alexander said: pushing legislation, working with labor unions to lobby state government and appealing to the public by highlighting what they say are unfair practices and opaque payment methods on the part of Uber and Lyft. "They're still at the point where there's no expectation [of immediate success] in this group as it is presently constituted," Bhandary-Alexander said. "I guess the one overarching point I would make is this isn't going away at all, the drivers will never go away." Exerting influence Attempts to regulate ridesharing have set off a lobbying fight in Hart- ford, with Uber and Lyft having spent tens of thousands of dollars in recent months trying to influence policymak- ers, state records show. Lyft spent $14,213 from January to April on lobbying, including hiring Hartford lobbying and PR firm Sullivan & LeShane, state ethics records show. Uber spent $25,524 from March to May, much of that money going to Brown Rudnick Government Rela- tions, records show. Uber, which opposed this year's BY THE NUMBERS Rideshare service companies 14M The average number of Uber trips that are completed daily. $11.3B Uber's total revenue in 2018, which was up 43 percent from a year earlier. $364 The average monthly income for an Uber driver. $2.2B Lyft's total revenue in 2018, which was up 120 percent from a year earlier. Source: Business of Apps Pay Debate CT rideshare drivers vow to keep pay-protection fight alive Uber drivers in New York City participate in a one-day strike May 8. Uber drivers in Connecticut participated in a similar strike as they try to lobby for greater pay protections at the state Capitol. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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