U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren joined grocery workers, app-based workers, and advocates in Allston ... to demand that Big Tech companies, like Uber and Lyft, follow the law and abandon their expected $100 million ballot measure to undermine the rights, benefits, and legal protections of consumers and workers.

... “I wish these companies would take the millions of dollars they are spending on the campaigns and use it to pay their workers,” said Jeena Patel, paralegal and app-based worker. "The COVID-19 pandemic, over the past year, this work has become essential work to all those who are in need of our services. Everyone working in these stores, from the meat counter to the checkout, and to delivery deserve to earn a fair pay and benefits. These companies must follow the law,” said Stephen Levine, an app-based worker with Instacart. 

... According to experts, the measure would allow tech giants to pay workers less than minimum wage, make no contributions to unemployment or Social Security, and remove app-based workers from legal protections against workplace injuries, sexual harassment, and discrimination.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is currently suing two of the largest “gig economy” companies, Uber and Lyft, for illegal “misclassification,” a scheme used by the companies to avoid paying taxes, avoid paying workers fairly, and escape liability to customers and members of the public.