"Murdered Behind the Wheel: An Escalating Crisis for App Drivers," May 2023

... Despite their self-proclaimed role as “disrupters” of modern industries, app corporations like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash merely perpetuate an age-old, shameful American business tradition: chasing profit by paying dangerously low wages, denying people meaningful voice in their working conditions, and shirking their responsibility for the safety of the working people they depend upon—drivers who are primarily people of color and immigrants.

... New research shows that the safety crisis app workers face may be escalating. A review of press reports, police reports, and court records reveals that in 2022 alone, at least 31 app- based workers, primarily people of color, were murdered while working. This is the highest annual figure of app workers identified by [Gig Workers Rising (GWR)] GWR as having been murdered on the job to date.

... In 2022, 77 percent of murdered app workers identified by the report authors were people of color, and 26 percent were immigrants.

... [A]pp corporations put workers in a double bind by shifting risks and costs onto workers by classifying them as independent contractors while still controlling the terms of work. For instance, Uber and Lyft determine the trips presented to workers, set take rates, control platform access, and limit workers’ ability to challenge such terms.22 The rules that underpin app work encourage workers to continue to work even when they feel unsafe.

... This pressure to keep working, even when feeling unsafe, disproportionately affects drivers of color. In a recent national survey, 56 percent of drivers of color reported continuing a ride that made them feel unsafe because they were concerned about deactivation.

... Workers worldwide are taking collective action to demand accountability and push app corporations to adopt measures to prevent dangerous conditions, including fair pay and deactivation protections.

... The apparently rising murder rate of app workers only adds to the indicators of the need for systemic solutions that prevent, interrupt, and help workers heal from harm. Workers need safety protections via authentic accountability mechanisms, transparency, fair wages, and deactivation protection.