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CHICAGO (CBS) — Police arrested protesters and hauled them away in handcuffs late Tuesday afternoon as they demanded higher pay and safer working circumstances for Chicago rideshare drivers.
As CBS 2’s Marybel González reported, rideshare drivers gathered exterior the Uber Greenlight Chicago Hub at 1401 W. North Ave., simply east of the Kennedy Expressway. They demanded that Uber and Lyft pay their drivers larger wages and enact extra security measures to guard them
The drivers, represented by the Chicago Gig Alliance, complained that excessive fuel costs and inflation are inflicting severe issues for his or her household budgets.
Additionally they accused Uber and Lyft of failing to handle their issues with security – and specifically shield them from carjackers and violence.
“Once I get a proposal for a journey, I do not see an image of the individual. It might be a faux title. I do not know who they’re,” mentioned rideshare driver Jayson Franklin, “and so they know that the police have a really troublesome time monitoring down who ordered the journey.”
Franklin fears working particularly at night time. He’s amongst these demanding change.
“We ask on the very least that Uber and Lyft increase the bar for passengers, in order that if there may be an incident, that criminals know that they are going to be tied to that journey,” he mentioned.
Members of the Chicago Gig Alliance need the Metropolis Council to go an ordinance requiring passengers to confirm their identities.
“You’ll be able to’t management the crime that occurs exterior the automobile,” mentioned Chicago Gig Alliance organizer Lori Simmons. “What we do need is for the businesses to guard us from our personal clients.”
Their issues are actual – particularly after the Chicago Police Division issued a brand new group alert a few collection of carjackings involving Uber drivers. The carjackings are taking place on components of the North, South, and West sides alike – in addition to a number of western suburbs.
Police mentioned a crew is carjacking some rideshare drivers, after which utilizing these vehicles to commit different carjackings and robberies.
“We’re asking town to step up and power Uber and Lyft to make some modifications, to guard the mothers and dads; the aunts and uncles of town, so they do not should do their job in concern,” Franklin mentioned.
As of simply earlier than 5:30 p.m., some protesters had been sitting throughout North Avenue within the crosswalk at Besly Court docket, whereas police stood on the scene warning them that they might be arrested.
Officers started arresting the protesters quickly afterward. They had been handcuffed and brought away to a police wagon.
It was not instantly realized what, if something, they had been charged or cited with.
We reached out to each Uber and Lyft for touch upon the drivers’ grievances. We had not heard again as of late Tuesday night time.
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