Uber Drivers Helped Evacuate L.A. during Wildfires—But Were Left Unprotected todayheadline

CLIMATEWIRE | James Jordan could work at almost any job in California and be protected by state rules that require companies to give their employees high-quality masks to block wildfire smoke.

But James Jordan is an Uber driver.

That means he’s a contractor, not an employee, for the multibillion-dollar tech giant — and unprotected by California’s first-in-the-nation regulations on worker safety related to wildfire smoke.

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Ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft are now part of America’s disaster response. Both apps have offered Los Angeles residents free rides to evacuation shelters during the deadly wildfires that have torched large area of the city — a service they also offered ahead of hurricanes and other disasters around the country.

But the drivers who venture into harm’s way often have little gear or training to protect themselves — or their riders — from extreme weather.

The rights of gig workers were also weakened by a California ballot initiative that was upheld by the state Supreme Court last year. The result: Uber and Lyft are exempted from state wildfire smoke protections for workers — and the companies don’t have to provide drivers with sick leave if they fall ill from inhaling wildfire smoke. Drivers also can’t claim workers compensation if their lungs are irreparably harmed.

“We help their brand, and we serve the community so they can stay out of this hazard, but we don’t get anything for putting ourselves at risk,” Jordan said on a recent Saturday afternoon as Los Angeles County extended its unhealthy air quality warning and urged people to “stay indoors as much as possible.”

Uber and Lyft each said their drivers provided about 10,000 rides to evacuation shelters in the first week after the wildfires started. In response to questions about what Uber was doing to protect its drivers, a spokesperson said it was “having ongoing conversations with drivers, couriers and merchants to listen to their needs to find the best way to support them.”

Lyft did not respond to requests for comment.

Both companies’ said on their websites that their drivers are not allowed to enter active fire evacuation zones, but they said nothing about the dangers of wildfire smoke pollution, which at one point this month reached more than 13 times EPA’s safe limit for daily average exposure.

Lyft’s webpage for its Disaster Relief Access Program, which describes policies related to rides to evacuation zones, tells riders that “we prioritize our drivers’ safety” and warns that arrival times may be longer than expected.

The page tells drivers to “use your best judgment when evaluating road conditions” and suggests sharing their phone location with a loved one “so they know where you are and can follow along in real-time.”

The page does not provide information about how drivers can protect themselves or what to do if they experience shortness of breath or other symptoms of smoke exposure.

That’s a concern for Jordan, whose eyes and throat have been stinging as he drives this month. He said he has felt anxious when riders with labored breathing get in his back seat.

“One guy assured me he has asthma, that he wasn’t about to have a heart attack or anything like that, but it was scary because I don’t know what to do if he has an asthma attack in the middle of a ride,” Jordan said.

California cruising

If Jordan wasn’t an Uber driver, he might have received training about the symptoms caused by smoke exposure and how to know when to seek medical attention.

In 2019, California established groundbreaking regulations to limit workers’ exposure to wildfire smoke. The rule requires employers to provide workers with N95 respirators when the Air Quality Index for particulate matter reaches 151, a level that EPA says is “unhealthy” for the general population. The smoky pollution can extend 50 miles from a blaze. The rule also requires companies to train employees to spot symptoms of smoke inhalation and on the importance of using a respirator versus surgical masks, which don’t block the smoke as well.

The California Department of Industrial Relations received more than 50 complaints about the rule being violated during the first week of the fires.

But the protections don’t apply to contractors, like Jordan and other gig workers. That’s thanks, in part, to Proposition 22, a ballot initiative supported by tech companies including Uber and Lyft that promised to increase their workers’ wages in exchange for legally classifying them as independent contractors.

The ballot initiative also excludes contractors from other worker protections, including minimum wage and overtime requirements, and benefits like unemployment and workers compensation.

Many workers have argued that the benefits promised by organizers of the ballot initiative have not materialized. But enforcing the law has proven complicated because the state Industrial Relations Department said its jurisdiction to resolve labor disputes extends to employees — not gig workers.

“If you’re a grocery store worker who collects the carts outside, your employer is required to provide you with a respirator for the smoke and give you paid sick days and workers compensation if you develop COPD from your on-the-job exposure,” said Anastasia Christman, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, referring to a chronic lung disease. “But none of that applies to Instacart workers or Uber drivers who may be frequenting the same grocery store because they are independent contractors.”

The Los Angeles wildfires are just one example of extreme weather events endangering gig workers.

On the ‘front lines’ of climate change

In September 2021, the remnants of Hurricane Ida dropped a record-breaking amount of rain on New York City, overwhelming the city’s stormwater system and flooding streets, subway tunnels and basements.

Thousands of food delivery workers were caught in the deluge, damaging some of their electric bikes.

Because they were contractors, many had to pay for the repairs themselves, said Ligia Guallpa, co-founder of Los Deliveristas Unidos, a group that helps organize app-based delivery workers in New York City.

Then in 2023, New York City delivery workers were exposed to smoky air from Canadian wildfires, oftentimes without masks or training, Guallpa said.

“These workers are on the front lines of climate change because their workplace is in the streets, so they are the ones breathing the smoke or being flooded,” Guallpa said.

Back in Los Angeles, Jordan says he is having to work more to make ends meet because of the fires. There are fewer riders than normal, he said, and many are taking shorter trips, for which he makes less money. He said he’s working longer days — up to 12 hours sometimes — to earn the same amount he used to make in eight hours, about $200.

He’s worried about the smoke and ash damaging his car, which has been flashing “check engine” alerts when the pollution gets especially thick.

He tries to protect himself by keeping the windows up and wearing surgical masks — the kind he had at home that were leftover from the pandemic. He knows they’re not very protective, but it’s what he had.

He wishes Uber would communicate with its drivers. He wants hazard pay, or better masks — or “at least a ‘thank you guys’ from braving these conditions and helping the community.”

“That type of messaging, we haven’t heard anything from them,” Jordan said. “[We] guys end up doing it because you need the money, not because you expect the corporations to have any humanity.”