Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,725 posts)
Mon May 8, 2023, 12:51 PM May 2023

Murdered Behind the Wheel: An Escalating Crisis for App Drivers

Hat tip, Jalopnik

At Least 31 Gig Workers Were Murdered While on the Job Last Year

The side hustle may soon be ranked as one of the most dangerous occupations in America.

By Erin Marquis
Published Wednesday 5:00PM

{snip}

Murdered Behind the Wheel: An Escalating Crisis for App Drivers

Spring2023

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

At least 31 app-based workers, primarily people of color, were murdered while working

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.4 Last year, Gig Workers Rising (GWR) released our first report on app workers killed at work, documenting more than 50 workers killed between 2017 and January 2022.

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.6 This is the highest annual figure of app workers identified by GWR as having been murdered on the job to date.

Our research found a noticeably racialized dimension to extreme violence workers face. In 2022, 77 percent of murdered app workers identified by the report authors were people of color, and 26 percent were immigrants. While most workers murdered were not murdered by a passenger, those who were are mostly—78 percent—people of color.

The app work sector has some of the highest instances of murder compared to other sectors. When we compare the number of murdered app workers, we identified to the number of homicides reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), it appears that the app-based work sector would be among the top five sectors where workers are murdered on the job if the BLS were to track homicides in this sector.

Of the workers we identified as murdered on the job, Uber had more workers killed on the job than any other app corporation last year. In 2022, 39 percent of workers murdered at work that we identified were driving or delivering for Uber

{snip}
1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Murdered Behind the Wheel: An Escalating Crisis for App Drivers (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves May 2023 OP
We might have to change... 2naSalit May 2023 #1
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Economy»Murdered Behind the Wheel...