LYNN — When Victoria Acosta began driving for a rideshare company, she thought it would be a great way to provide for her family and make a decent living. But five years later, the 45-year-old Dominican immigrant and single mother said she can barely afford to make ends meet for her three children by driving for Lyft.
Now, Acosta is working with state Sen. Brendan Crighton to fight for the rights of rideshare drivers to form unions and collectively bargain.
Acosta and 32BJ SEIU Regional Communications Manager Franklin Soults spoke on Friday about how local rideshare drivers are dealing with rising costs, job insecurity, and unsafe working conditions.
“It would change my life a lot if we could negotiate a higher wage with the union,” Acosta said, with Soults translating for her. “For example, my car, I’m still paying it off and I’d have more time to do things like go back and finish my studies. We’re earning less now and in earning less, that means I have to work more.”
Soults works for the largest union of property-services workers in the United States and deals with labor-abuse issues. He said he works with a largely Latino and low-income workforce.
On average, Soults said most rideshare drivers make less than the minimum wage. He got involved in the rideshare battle after working with airport workers and talking to the drivers there.
“We introduced this bill to the State House that would allow drivers to form a union because right now they can’t, they’re independent contractors so they don’t fall under the laws that govern people who are regular employees,” Soults said. “We think that this bill would establish a sort of a state system… because there’s precedent for it, there’s been a couple others like child-care workers and home health aides.”
Acosta, who lives in Lynn, has teamed up with Crighton to push for the Rideshare Driver Justice bill in the State House, Soults said.
Acosta said she drives 12 hours a day, six days a week. She added that drivers have to put a significant amount of money into car maintenance, gas, tolls, and insurance. Soults referenced a few independent studies his union has conducted to demonstrate the costs of working as a rideshare driver.
“They pay about 49 cents of every dollar that they earn in expenses,” Soults said. “So they don’t make a lot of money and they feel like they’re making less and less, so there’s a lot of desperation.”
In addition, Acosta said she has noticed that her fares are decreasing.
To survive, Acosta said she has been forced to take on a few weekend gigs to earn extra money. She recalled that she once made just $45 for a full day of driving.
“This morning I did a ride for 43 miles and only $28,” she said.
Acosta said she often faces uncertainty with her employment because of customer complaints. She first started with Uber, but her account was permanently banned after a customer made a complaint.
Soults said that passengers often file complaints about minor things, such as the temperature in the car.
“It’s hard to turn down rides,” Acosta said. “If you have to turn down a ride too often, they might turn off your application.”
Soults and Acosta also described unsafe working conditions as a major issue for rideshare drivers. Acosta said she had to call 911 herself after she was groped by a passenger, and Soults said Lyft has not been very responsive to drivers’ concerns of workplace safety.
Acosta also said that she does not have health insurance through Lyft, and that the insurance she has through the state does not cover all of her medications. Recently, she had to go to the hospital because of an ulcer that she said was caused by the high level of stress she is dealing with.
“I was hospitalized for a week, and so of course then I have all of the expenses for that week when I was earning absolutely nothing, plus the hospital bill,” Acosta said.
Crighton said he strongly supports the bill.
“Our hope is to pass the Rideshare Driver Justice bill, but I applaud Victoria and her fellow drivers for having these important conversations in the community,” Crighton said in a press release. “It’s so important for Lynn that all workers have the right to join together for fair pay and safe working conditions, no matter what industry they work in. We stand with them 100%.”
