This . Gig workers rising is a community of app and platform workers coming together to improve our work and livelihoods. In the last year, we amassed thousands of drivers and gig workers across the state of california to stand united for fair treatment against these Tech Companies. Weve delivered petitions to uber and lyft with over 6,000 signatures, demanding clear and transparent policies and processes for deact vationsdeactdeactivations. We visited our legislators in sacramento, and today we stand before you, the board of supervisors for San Francisco, to share our truth. So drivers supported by gig workers rising are organizing to demand several things. There are some issues that you may hear that drivers are often divided on. Classification could be one of them. So us drivers, whether we agree on that or not, can all agree on several things, and thats where our demands come from. One is a living wage. Regardless of your parttime or fulltime, when youre working, you deserve to earn a living wage. Two, transparency. This goes all the way through to how their algorhythms figure out how theyre going to pay us and other things. Third is benefits. As some of the speakers before me touched on, we have no access to a lot of the benefits provided to workers. And last and most important is a voice at work. San francisco is home base for several of these Tech Companies who came here to disrupt, break laws first and ask for forgiveness second. We are asking the San Francisco supervisors to stand with drivers and gig workers to ensure we get the basics that all workers are entitled to. Thank you. Chairman thank you. And thank you for your work. We have a lot of Public Comment, i believe. Im going to call some names. Im going to repeat how Public Comment works. So every speaker gets two minutes. We ask that you state your first and last night clearly, that you speak directly into the microphone, which i do not always do. We ask that if you have prepared a written statement, that you leave it with our clerk for inclusion, or leave a copy with our clerk for inclusion in the file. No applause or booing is permitted. In the interest of time, we urge speakers to avoid repetition of prior statements. And so im going to the names i have here omar alcamari, annette river rivaro, demarus romero. Don alvo. Kim. Javier de mond. Al alluti. [names called] hi, everyone. I work for uber and lyft since 2015. I started working with company, and i live in San Francisco, so it was a great take. We were going to the airport for 50, but now, after seven years working, with just make 17 going to the airport. It changed from 1. 95 to 60 cents per mile. I spent working with uber and lyft i bought three cars because this is the only thing i can do. The only thing i get is diabetes, high Blood Pressure, and high cholesterol. We are fighting for our rights. Now we are with gig workers, and we are fighting for our rights. They give drivers false information. They give us messages through the emails saying it is about our flexibility, which we know ab5 is not about flexibility. It is about our rights. This city uber and lyft starts here and they have their headquarters here. It is a shame to have all of these drivers suffering, with families, in the most expensive city in the world. We trust you and we know youre going to do the right thing. Thank you so much. Chairman thank you. Next speaker. Buenas diaz. [speaking spanish] good morning, i am a Domestic Work worker. And im a member of the gig workers. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] i live in work in San Francisco. Im here to support the resolution of ab5. The misclassification of workers at independent contractors must end because all workers need major protections. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] i am proud to be supporting other gig workers who also, as Domestic Workers, are organizing to fight against misclassifications, including babysitters, home care workers and house cleaners are recognized as the original gig workers because we maintain two to three jobs as a time, and many times we work without Employment Benefits and without legal protections. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] as income inequality in San Francisco rises, we are struggling to survive, searching for ways to have health care and other basic needs. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] in 2017, the Franchise Council passed a bill of rights for Domestic Workers in california. San francisco already recognizes that at state and federal level, Domestic Workers are excluded and without a safety net. They are exposed to dangerous conditions every day. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] today im here representing all Domestic Workers to support the resolution that supports ab5. Thank you. Chairman muchos gracias. Next speaker. My name is yvette barro, and im a driver for both uber and lyft. The other night i got my keys and headed to the door as my fiance jumped in front of me and asked what was the matter. As i broke down, all i could say is, i cant do this anymore. This is what my last two years have come down to, if it is not the pay cuts, it is the threatening messages. If it is not that, it is the manipulation tactics used to control where they have advertised as my business. I left my job to go to school fulltime in order to make more money. One of my goals after school was to help my parents retire. Due to the pay cuts, i have had to stop going to school because i cannot even afford pay my bills, let alone tuition and books. Regardless of the fact im spending more time on the road with less money in my bank account. Not only can i not help my parents retire, i have convinced my dad to drive for uber, and now his situation has gotten worse. Due to the lack of decent pay, he can no longer drive home after a days work. He has to sleep in his car. Even worse, he sleeps sitting up and in pain due to the nerve damage in his leg. He capito cant even afford health care or my mother who is going blind from diabetes because he makes too much to qualify for medical, and not enough to pay for health plans, which he has tried and failed due to the costs. Uber and lyft have preyed on low and middle class families like mine. They advertise life and sold us unattainable dreams because they knew where they were taking their business. And where they were taking their business never included the drivers. We have always been a means to an end. Thank you. Chairman thank you. Next speaker. Good morning. My name is adona laval, and im a lyft driver. You have heard plenty of testimonies that lyft does not may insurance. We find it is very difficult to afford health insurance. We do not get paid time off nor overtime. We are not paid for the time we drive without a passenger or even for the time we drive to pick up the passenger. Both add up to hours and many miles of unpaid driving daily. Im here to tell you what it is like for me personally to exist in these working conditions. I feel trapped, like one of those caged hamsters running on a wheel. I feel if i work normal hours, i do not earn enough to exist in the bay area. And certainly not enough to cover my sons medical insurance, school expenses, etc. If i work longer hours, which i have done plenty, i end up with many more car maintenance costs, gas costs, my health deteriorates, and i put myself, my passengers, and others at greater risk of accident due to fatigue. Since lyft incentives have traditionally be tied to number of rides rather than time on the road, im constantly encouraged to push myself past my limits, to keep running faster and faster in the lyft hamster well. The main difference between a hamster and myself is the hamster doesnt have the illusion that if he runs fast enough, he will not get anywhere. I do not ask for handouts, but i ask you to support this resolution so drivers get their fair share. Chairman thank you. Good morning, my name is ann black, and im 62 years old, i have a bachelors degree and i have been a lyft driver for four years. I decided to stop because i cannot earn a living wage. Lyft is not transparent with the money it makes. I have no voice i can talk to anybody at lyft about. Drivers deserve a living wage, benefits, transparency, and a real voice at work. As lyft has continued to cut pay, and with the influx of drivers, my earnings dramatically decreased. Lyft took from me surge pricing, bonuses, and incentive, and my wage plummeted well below minimum wage after expenses. After two years of driving, i started experiencing horrible headaches that would keep me in bed sometimes for days. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, and osteoporosis, which i was told was due in part to sitting long periods of time. I paid out of pocket for physical therapy and acupuncture, but could only go when i made enough that week to cover the added expense. Anxiety and depression from the stress and isolation is a problem that many drivers, including myself experience. My anxiety stems from a fear of being deactivated, getting random parking fines, moving violations, accidents, debt accumulation, and, of course, making enough money to live each day. What a driver must have a way to voice our grievances, and lyft and uber have pitted us against each other. We must have the ability to stand together as drivers and not be afraid of deactivation or retaliation. We must have a seat at the table when it comes to decisions that affect drivers the most. Chairman thank you. Thank you. Chairman next speaker. Ola, buenos dias. [voice of interpreter] my name is evica chavez, and im a member of the gig workers. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] i live and work in San Francisco. Im here to support the resolution in favor of ab5. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] all workers need protections under employment laws. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] in 2016, as a result of the support of the San Francisco city council, we were victorious in being able to get the bill of rights for Domestic Workers approved at the state level. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] the bill of rights was also follows [speaking spanish] p[voice of interpreter] it be extends overtime overpay to Domestic Workers and personal assistance sho who care for and support thousands of people in california. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] while the intent of the legislation was to improve working conditions for Domestic Workers, many Domestic Workers continue to be disclassified as contract workers. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] we are misclassified as contractors. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] and as independent contractors, we are denied the right to overtime pay and other protections available to us at the local and state level. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] im here to support the resolution in favor of ab5, the misclassification of independent contractors. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] the misclassification must end because all workers deserve protections under our labor laws. Thank you. Chairman gracias. Im going to call more names. [names called] good morning. My name is grant nichols, and im vised of local 1021. We represent 60,000 workers, nonprofit agencies, Health Care Programs and schools throughout northern california. Including about 20,000 of us here in San Francisco. I want to thank the gate workers who have been providing powerful testimony this morning. We stand in solidarity with you and your fight to have a real voice on the job. So your demands for better pay and basic rights at work can be heard. And speaking out against corporations like lyft and uber, the workers here today have launched a National Movement to hold Gig Companies accountable. By organizing and joining together, gig workers are exposing how these companies are reaping all of the benefits and profits, without paying workers their fair share. We sit here in a city that lyft and uber call home, also our home, but by whos laws they refuse to follow. These corporations are acting as if the same rules that apply to everyone else do not apply to them. Including the rules that demand they treat their workers with dignity and respect. I want to thank the supervisors and members of the board and of this committee who have called for this hearing, and who are shining a light on corporations unconscionable business practices. This is just the first step. I urge you to stand on the side of justice by ensuring that Companies Like lyft and uber will not longer cut corners, follow the labor laws, and respect their workers. Have a great rest of your day and gay pride week and please support the workers. Thank you. Chairman thank you. My name is rashid dosane, and i lived here in the city for 12 years, and ive been working for lyft and uber for six years. And one time just happened i had to stop for one month in the six years for health reasons. And then that month, i had to pay my insurance, i had to pay my car finance, and no one is paying me for this month. And i had my car i sold my car. And now i dont have any car. I financed all of the cars. So thank you, gig workers, for supporting us for living wages and transparency. I am for ab5, and thank you for supporting us. Thank you very much. Chairman thank you. Next speaker. Hello. Im cory helmonds with the National Brother hood of teamsters. Im here to support the gig workers who are sharing their Horror Stories about being misclassified as being independent contractors by Companies Like uber and lyft in San Francisco. Every employee should have the right to a basic livable wage, minimum wage. They should have the right to workers comp and Social Security benefits. Thats why teamsters is in support of Assembly Bill 5, and we support it here in San Francisco. Chairman thank you. Next speaker. Good afternoon supervisors, my name is javier bermonds, and im a member of local 1021. Last months uber strike was an indictment by the public. Gate workers are classified as independent contractors, and allow the companies to avoid minimum wage, unemployment, workers compensation. This is disrepect fulful to the historical gains of the labor movement. Just this week my friend, who drives in the bay area for lyft, she was in an accident and injured her arm severely and was telling me she hasnt even considered taking a day off from driving from lyft because it is simply not an option for her if she wants to stay housed and to be able to live in a comfortable way. And i think she really highlights, to me, the precarious nature of people who work in the gig economy. So i think supporting ab5 will serve as recognition that workers rights should be prioritized over extreme deregulation and unchecked power of businesses that employ gig and Domestic Workers. Thank you. Chairman thank you. Next speaker. Im a fifth generation San Francisco bay area kid. I used to be able to work a regular 40hour work week. I used to be able to go home, feel good, feel happy, be able to eat, hang out with my friends, go out to dinner and work out. Now i have no time to do any of that. By the time i get home, im exhausted. Because now im putting in 60 to 80 hours a week, making the same money i made two years ago. I used to enjoy this gig. I used to feel like a team. Now, pardon the expression, i feel like a slave. Im constantly stressed. Im losing weight. I have no energy. Im just too exhausted. I was almost too exhausted to come to this, but i knew i owed to all of these people here, to represent them. We need to stand up for ourselves, and tell you guys what is going on because in your position you hear black and white, black and white, black and white, but you dont note what it is likknowwhat it is lie around the wheel. To have a company tell you, hey, by the way, you cant drive this morning until you agree to this non im sorry, im losing my thought process. Imagine for a second you wake up and you start to go to work, and you cant turn on your app until you agree to something, some changes to everything. They tell you what you can and cant do. You have no say in it. And so, what, are you going to not accept it and not drive . Or are you going to say, okay, i accept and i drive, because you have to work. And there is no notice. Its that morning, you wake up, and all of a sudden there are changes to the app, changes to your pricing, and if you dont accept it, you cant drive. So you press accept and you drive. Uber and lyft are deceptive. There is price fixing, and there is collusion between uber and lift. [buzzer] chairman thank you. Next speaker. Okay. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] i am a driver for uber and lyft. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] ive been in this work for about two plus years. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] my income, since i first started working for uber and lyft has been decreasing every year. [speakingn language] [voice of interpreter] with think that Companies Like uber and lyft should treat us with similar im comincome that employees would have. [voice of interpreter] they dont give us a ton of reason or push back when they decrease our income. [speaking foreign language] [voice of interpreter] we are like many other workers. When others are rushing through the morning commute to get to work, we are already working. And when they are getting off work, we are also working for them, to get them home. [speaking foreign language] [voice of interpreter] but during other times of the day, our income is quite low. And there is no way of ash assuring were making a minimum wage. [speaking foreign language] [voice of interpreter] we need workers to protect our rights. [speaking foreign language] [voice of interpreter] we know there are so many people in San Francisco who work in these treas of giindustries of gig workers, whether it is 20,000 or more workers, and we all have families and lives coming into these industries for different reasons. [speaking foreign language] [voice of interpreter] i hope as workers, we all get qua equal and fair treatment. [speaking foreign language] [voice of interpreter] we would like that our income not only be protected, but as the cost of living rises, it also rises. [speaking foreign language] [voice of interpreter] as uber and life in the and ly, our expenses are quite high, whether it is paying for insurance for our cars are health insurance. [speaking n language] [voice of interpreter] so im here today to support ab5. Thank you. Chairman thank you. Next speaker. Good afternoon, im a workers rights attorney and state policy director for the national Domestic Workers alliance. It advances the rights of Domestic Workers nationwide, and it has over 200,000 members. They have supported the enactment of nine workers bill of rights and one municipal ordinance. Despite these gains, our members are still extremely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Domestic work is now online, and as such, one of the industries, theyre part of the gig economy. Although the gig economy is considered a gateway to innovation, students for california workers, for Domestic Workers, it has meant that workplace protections that they fought for for decades are no longer. Some offer House Cleaning services. Many Handy Workers do not earn a living wage, absorb all expenses. Providing no recourse to challenge unfair employment issues, such as harassment and Health Safety issues, they lax flexibility and autonomy on the platform, and they not only control the wages they earn, but subjects them to unquestionable surveillance systems. Many of the workers are sitting in this room, and i urge you to please support the resolution in favor of ab5. Chairman thank you. Im going to call a few more names. [names called] chairman next speaker. Good people of this honorable chamber, as i was studying at university of california berkeley, i worked for uber and lyft tas i pursued my education. They are ma are manipulative. This is a job, gentlemen this is a platform that is taking over the entire taxicab industry. An industry in which people were able to make around 20,000 a month if they paid the 500,000 fee to have a medallion. This is a job that people good money to have, and now were about to give it up to Autonomous Cars and this ab5 law may usher uber and life in the lyfts abo usher in these cars in place of all of these workers. About 140,000 operators are in San Francisco alone, and if this bill passes, and uber replaces us all with these driverless cars, that 140,000 people who potentially will be on the streets of our state of california. I want everyone to be treated fairly. I want people to be able to have medical insurance. But if youre making 20,000 a month, you would be able to afford to buy your own medical insurance. Chairman thank you. Next speaker i think there are very few people left in the south light court. There is a line outside, if youre in the south light court, and youre interested in speaking, i dont have anymore cards to call, so i would encourage those folks to come upstairs and get in the line. Next speaker. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] hello, good morning, my name is mase delgado, and im a member. I live in work in San Francisco. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] i am here to support the resolution in favor of ab5. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] as a house cleaner, im concerned about the growth of cleaning companies. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] such as handy, which dispatches workers to clean in different houses through internetbased apps. These cleaners are not allow to negotiate their own salaries. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] they work without Labor Protections and benefits. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] this means that all risks are transferred from the employers to the workers. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] such as taking tax payments, the cost of cleaning products, transportation and without steady pay rates. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] handy is lowering labor standards and is also Encouraging Companies to do the same. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] if handy continues to operate as it does, the impact on the lives of the workers will be devastating. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] that is why i am supporting the resolution presented at the San Francisco board of supervisors. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] that endorses ab5 by dynamics decision means many workers would be recognized as employees. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] and will have access to the minimum wage, overtime, and other benefits. Thank you. Chairman gracias, next speaker. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] hello, good afternoon, my name is hema ascension. I am a Domestic Worker, and im a member. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] i live and work in San Francisco. I am here to support the resolution in favor of ab5. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] all workers deserve protections under labor laws. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] in california, there are over more than 300,000 women, mostly immigrant immigrants. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] . Who work as house cleaners, nannies, and home care workers in private homes. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] nearly two million homes in california depend on Domestic Workers. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] as an immigrant, i would also like to have the opportunity to venture into business work. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] however, there is no flexibility when companies impede us the basic benefits that all workers deserve. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] to obtain a minimum wage, a safety net for when we get injured at work or when we are sick, and the ability to have a real voice at work. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] and the ability to have a real voice at work. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] companies in the 21st century economy must provide each worker, regardless of classification, with a firm path to the middle class. Span. [voice of interpreter] anand a fair chance for theamer. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] regardless of a workers classification, basic protections include a minimum wage, unemployment compensation, and a workplace free of discrimination and intimidation. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] based on my experience, i ask you to support the resolution in support of ab5. Thank you. Chairman gracias. Next speaker. Thank you, supervisors. Quite a moving hearing here. High name is steven hill. Im a long time 25year resident of San Francisco, and also a journalistist, author of seven books, and two books on the gig economy, and the impact on workers, including raw deal how the uber economy and runaway capital are screwing the american workers. That book came out in 2017, and people said you dont get the gig economy. It is going to be cool. Now youre seeing what has happened. The question now Going Forward is what do we do about it . Weve heard from drivers and Domestic Workers, but there are other types of gig workers out there. There are Companies Like up work and all of these freelancers that are working. The worker classifications are becoming more and more complicated. Weve got to find a way to unify this and move forward. And even if we pass ab5, which is a good first start, but it is only a start, for a lot of the parttime w2 workers right now, they only get the basic form, Social Security, medicare, unemployment, they have no health care, paid vacation, paid sick leave, any of these sorts of things. So even if we pass ab5, it is just the beginning. Where we really need to go is whats called a portable safety net. Other countries are already doing this. Basically what that means is you every worker gets an individual security account. Like some workers in San Francisco have a Social Security account. And every business that hires that worker, that business must contribute into that security account for that worker a prorated amount to the number of hours theyve worked for that business. If they worked 10 hours a week, they would get 25 of a fulltime safety net [buzzer] i just want to apologize. Im going to have to leave for another meeting. But i wanted to thank everyone who has come to speak out at this important hearing, especially the drivers and the Domestic Workers, and reassure you that im very committed to following up on the Important Information provided here to ensure that gig workers, especially in San Francisco, are treated fairly, and ill continue to work with supervisor mandelman and my colleagues on that. So thank you very much. Chairman i look forward to talking with you more, mr. Hill, about the portable protections. Have other cities moved forward with those . Other cities are looking at it. Other states have introduced laws, including washington, new jersey, and new york. It has been tough to get the companies to come to the table to do this sort of thing. I think here in San Francisco, this is where this gig stuff has started. We can do this near locally and not wait for anyone else. And we can set the National Model that then can be scalable to elsewhere. This idea has also been endorsed by president barack obama and also by many other organizations. This would allow workers to work wherever they are, however they work, and accumulate from each business part of the Financial Funding they need to have their safety net. Chairman thank you. Thank you. Chairman next speaker. Really, okay, two minutes . Lets see. I am a 21year resident. I lived only five blocks from not only this chamber, but ubers headquarters on 1455 market. They want to keep us independent contractors which i find hilarious because the one damned thing we cannot do as an independent contractor is set our own rates. They have been cut time and time and time again over the last however many years that these crappy bags of greed companies that the city of San Francisco has enabled to run ram shod. One of the things im devastated is watching these people ask questions to the supervisors over what power you have over these companies that you helped enable as the leaders of this city . Really . Seriously . Are you kidding . Like. You guys vote on your own raises, for christ sake, and theyre cutting our pay. But were an independent contractor because why . Because our schedule is flexible . Give me a break. This city is overrun with homeless people, and one of the ways people become homeless before the 2008 housing crisis, it was medical bills. So as an independent contractor, all of these drivers who are sitting 16plu16plus hours a day, basically helping destroy their own body end up they cant even get unemployment if they companies decide to basically just flush them. And we have no recourse whatsoever. We have zero control. And the people say, why do you keep doing what youre doing . Well, you know what . We have to eat and we have to pay rents in one of the most expensive parts of the entire nation. Please do something. [buzzer] chairman thank you. And thank you, supervisor mar. Next speaker. Hi, everyone. Thank you for calling this hearing and doing such thoughtful research beforehand. That means a lot to me. My name is lauren swigger, and i have lived in San Francisco since 1990, but was fraudulently evicted and pushed out in 2013, and since have had to move twice. Thats when i turned to driving for lyft in 2014, to make a stab at my skyrocketing rent. Ive always driven parttime, so it is easy for me to see how earnings have changed over time, just doing simple calculations. I drive parttime because i have physical limitations that keep me from being able to sit still for more than three or four hours or drive for more than three or four hours, and i also care for my daughter that has some special needs. Might rent has almost tripled since losing that apartment, and yet our actual earnings have plummetted. I want to point out when we talk about wages, were always talking about gross earnings, before our expenses, which are everything. And we dont along with that, we dont have a single worker protection. I know you know what they all are. And like many, you have fought for them. But uber and lyft have deceived us every step of the way. Our work has been going to the bottom. Im a single parent, and i have to accept the fact that i may be in an accident during my shift later today or i may not come home at all. And knowing there would be no sick leave or disability, no recovery compensation, nothing for my daughter is heartbreaking and extremely stressful. In 2017 i needed surgery, and i continued to drive. The surgery would have kept me from being able to drive for six months. [buzzer] chairman thank you. Next speaker. Im a member of the national Domestic Workers alliance. Im a bay area nanny, and have been a member of the Domestic Work force providing child care for 19 years. I began using platforms like urban sitter and others to find care jobs. My hope was they would be a way for me to find work with no dependency on agencies. However, i soon realized that finding reliable employment this way has numerous challenges. Gig economy platforms have changed the way Domestic Work is found, mediated, and paid for. Companies like care. Com have created problems in care work and created new ones. These companies have become arbitors of Domestic Work standards. They standardize our wage wages. Working conditions are now shaped by ratings, reviews, access to the platform, and distribution of jobs via algorhythms, which is technology that didnt exist just a few years ago. We must rely on platforms like care. Com, which leads the industry in providing jobs for Domestic Workers. Based on my experiences, i want to urge you to support the resolution in support of ab5. I believe that ab5 is essential to protecting vulnerable workers in the gig economy, and to Keep Companies that have little regard for the wellbeing of their workforce and the states economy accountable. Aside from driving, Domestic Work is the largest work force in 2030 projection. As such, i urge this committee to uphold workers rights and support the resolution for ab5. Chairman thank you. Next speaker. I currently cannot afford to see a dr. To get a prescription for basic, inexpensive Blood Pressure medication without jeopardizing my ability to keep a roof over my childrens heads. Just imagine for a moment how that feels. I ask a San Francisco board of supervisors to use what gravity you have to help bring these Companies Back down to earth. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Next speaker. Hello, thank you for having this hearing. I am a long time corporate accountability campaigner. I drove with uber for the last two years, so i cant understand what it is like from that perspective, but i thank you understand what the issues are. Just a few other points i want to make first that any solution to this issue of the plight of uber drivers cannot be found without also looking at the plight of taxi drivers in the city of San Francisco. They are very much interlinked. Im not very happy that hasnt been brought up today because it is very, very important, i thank you all know. The city and the board of supervisors and the city of San Francisco is looking at this issue. Uber and lift are responsible for this situation that the taxi industry is facing here. The second thing i want to say is we need solutions. Eightyfive is good, but it is necessary but not sufficient. What needs to happen is that in 2013, uber, went through an army of lobbyists and they got themselves to be regulated by the state of california. That needs to be reversed. It needs to be brought back to the city of San Francisco and the municipal transportation corporation. M. T. C. Has separated for example, the rates that they pay taxi drivers today is 2 2. 75 a mile. Do you know how much uber is paid . Seventy cents a mile. That is a quarter of that. I think there is a lot of issues with the city of San Francisco setting living wages through these things. They also have a limit on the number of taxis out there, and this is uber and lift. The problem is, they have overrun our streets. They have taken over our curbs, they are taking over our sidewalks, theyre taking over our roads [indiscernible] thank you. Next speaker. Good afternoon. I was a computer engineer and four years ago, i decided to go back to school and because i didnt want to be stuck under student loans, i had to drive uber just like other students. We used to make ends meet by driving 30 to 40 hours a week, but every year, it gets more and more expensive. We take the risk and the blame for fines when we have to wait five minutes to pick up passengers from extremely and possible locations extremely impossible locations. [indiscernible] it is falsely advertised this is a flexible job. For two weeks, they have been pushing drivers to sign up a petition by saying, save california flexibility. We are pushed to drive 70 to 80 hours. I dont see where the flexibility is. We have to work 80 hours a week, but there are some that get paid 50 millions a year. We have more drivers, and make sure that we are replaceable at any time when they want with their self driven cars. Whether we are independent contractors or employees, we are workers and are human beings. As the system is broken, and it is your responsibility to fix it thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Good afternoon, supervisors. I am a member of guild freelancers, unit of the pacific media workers skilled, cwa 39521 i also chair the guilds legislative and political committee. We are a union of fulltime and freelance journalists, writers, editors, photographers and interpreters, translators, and other communications professionals. We fully support the aim of ab 52 preventing employers from his classifying workers as contractors instead of as employees. I wanted to expand a bit on that collective bargaining issue. Is one that receives very little visibility outside our own lengths of free length freelance and contract workers. We are considered business owners. By trying to bargain collectively with clients, we have been seen as violating federal antitrust law. But the ninth Circuit Court of appeals has looked at it from a little bit of a different aspect as the National Employment law project reported in june of 2018 , the ninth circuit has held that the National Labour relations act does not preclude states from establishing collective bargaining rights for independent contractors or from empowering cities to do the same respectfully, i urge that you, your board colleagues, in the City Attorney explore the feasibility of living in San Francisco in that direction peak i wasnt uber driver and i am president of the local 784 in San Francisco. On june 17th, 1893, a group of employees decided the fear of losing their jobs decreased wages and the lack of any benefits became too much, so together, they fought against the inequality they faced. Today, i stand in front of you on behalf of drivers to say, havent we done enough . Today, june, 28th, 2019 2019, 126 years later, we are here debating the same issues we were then. Havent we learned anything . Our employers have learned how to prevent the labour laws that our sisters and brothers have fought, died, and burned in buildings to establish and protect us. After 126 years, will it take what will it take for humans to be treated equally . I drove for two and a half years until it became financially unsustainable. I fortunately had my other job. A gig economy job in the Entertainment Industry where back in june, back in june 2017, my brothers and sisters were able to gain the rights they deserved. This is all the drivers are asking. Is to see the deception which has happened here and again the rights they deserve. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Supervisors, im a district two resident. First of all, i would like to express my solidarity with gig economy workers who make an average of 9. 21 an hour. That is not just below the minimum wage, that is below arkansas, that is below south dakota, if we are going to be the vanguard of protecting the rights of workers, we need to commit to paying these folks who are majority people of color, people who have a college education, fair wage and benefits. I urge you to support this to make it happen. Second, per the Public Safety theme of the committee, i would like to highlight the Public Safety issue that is raised by gig workers stopping their cars in the middle of busy traffic lanes to drop off fares, pick up food, et cetera. Is a bicyclist, i am at constant risk of injury and death because of these practices, and why . I believe it is due to a lack of enforcement. I spoke to supervisor stefani last night about this issue and she informed me that there are 50 motorcycle cops who are responsible for this enforcement throughout the city. Excuse me, but why the help do we have 1900 cops on payroll if only 50 will only enforce the law . I understand that these folks are really strep stretching their limits in order to make ends meet, you know, you have to jump out of your car, drop off your fair, at your food and go, but i really dont think that we can compromise the law in order to accommodate these practices. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Hi, i work at the rental car at the s. F. O. Recently i have been made aware of the tee and c. Pr