When Ying Shan Mei started working as a janitor in 2011, it helped her and her family to navigate life in a new country after moving from China. As a union rep, she helps other immigrants navigate changes in the labor market.
Category: Labor
Posted inArtificial Intelligence, Economy & Business, Labor, News, Technology, Transportation
Drivers Protest Uber’s ‘Black Box’ Fare System
Uber’s use of secretive fare pricing algorithms driven by artificial intelligence lowers drivers’ wages, causes them confusion and uncertainty, and could undermine public safety — all while boosting company profits to record levels.
That’s the conclusion of a new report surveying more than 2,500 Uber drivers and the message sounded by dozens who protested July 1 outside the company’s San Francisco headquarters.
Drivers say the company’s opaque fare-pricing algorithms have been hurting their income and wellbeing. The protesters’ signs echoed conclusions from the report by PowerSwitch Action and Gig Workers Rising, grassroots organizations representing workers and labor interests.
Posted inHealth, Homelessness, Labor
Arrested UC Workers Released, Charged with Disrupting Public Meetings with Labor Protest
More than 20 labor leaders and University of California workers were arrested May 15 as they protested at a UC Board of Regents meeting at UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus. They were charged with willfully disturbing a meeting.
Demonstrators, who were protesting working conditions and calling for the university to engage in fair contract negotiations, were released after a few hours, said Liz Perlman, executive director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299 , which represents 35,000 employees across several UC campuses, medical centers, clinics and research labs. Perlman, who was arrested, said she was given a citation with a follow-up court date.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Labor, Social Justice
May Day Rallies in SF Draw Thousands to Protest Trump Administration Policies
Thousands of people turned out for a protest rally at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza and other locations on May 1 — also known as May Day and International Workers’ Day — to express outrage against Trump administration policies targeting immigrants, federal workers, labor unions, the social safety net, environmental policy, education and free speech.
The rallies on Thursday in San Francisco were among more than 1,000 demonstrations staged nationwide that coordinated with the grassroots 50501 movement, which billed the protests as a fight against a “billionaire takeover.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Economy & Business, Labor, Series, Technology
California Creatives Rally Behind State AI Rules to Save Their Artwork
Many creative professionals — including visual artists, writers, actors, singers and musicians — are concerned that companies are feeding existing creative work into data troves and applying generative AI to produce content based on their original work without giving credit or compensation. Creative professionals say their work is being used and monetized without their permission.
Posted inBay Area, Environment, Labor
Bay Area Ferry Electrification Will Also Be Jobs Program for Local Latinos
On a recent morning on San Francisco’s Pier 9, New Zealand’s prime minister and other officials finalized plans to electrify Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry’s fleet.
The project, part of a statewide push to satisfy green-energy mandates, will create jobs for Latino San Rafael residents who might otherwise struggle to break into the green-energy field.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, Labor
Proposition A — Retiree Supplemental Cost of Living Adjustment; Retirement Board Contract with Executive Director
This charter amendment would adjust supplemental cost-of-living benefits for people in the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System who retired before Nov. 6, 1996.
Posted inCalifornia, Economy & Business, Government & Politics, Labor, Ride-Hailing’s Dark Data, Transportation, Utilities
Uber, Lyft Must Adopt Measures to Prevent Sexual Assaults, California Regulator Rules
Nine years after becoming the first agency in the nation to legalize ride-hailing — and after thousands of publicized sexual assaults on Uber and Lyft rides — the California Public Utilities Commission for the first time is requiring the industry to adopt comprehensive measures to prevent such attacks.
In a previously unreported vote last month, the commission issued a decision requiring that all ride-hailing firms train drivers to avoid sexual assault and harassment, adopt procedures for investigating complaints and use uniform terminology in their annual reports to the agency so it can accurately monitor them.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Environment, Labor, Utilities
After You Unbox, Bin Your Recyclables the Right Way
With a holiday coming up that usually involves a lot of boxes, we revisit two stories about recycling. Follow recycling driver Gareth Willey on his morning route and hear how recycling is sorted by Recology.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Labor, Transportation
Soaring Uber, Lyft Prices Send Passengers to Taxis, but Drivers Still Struggle
Marg Gruberg, a San Francisco taxi driver since 1983 and a board member of the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance, talked with “Civic” about what this has meant for cab drivers and how he and others have stayed busy with advocacy even if they haven’t been driving in the pandemic.