Lyft Inc. | Report on Lobbying Activities at Lyft Inc.

Status
23.74% votes in favour
AGM date
Resolution details
Company ticker
LYFT
Lead filer
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Lobbying / political engagement
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Industrials
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
shareholders request the preparation of a report, updated annually, disclosing the following information:
1.Company policy and procedures governing lobbying, both direct and indirect, and grassroots lobbying communications;
2.Payments by Lyft used for (a) direct or indirect lobbying or (b) grassroots lobbying communications, in each case including the amount of the payment and the recipient;
3.Lyft’s membership in and payments to any tax-exempt organization that writes and endorses model legislation;
4.Description of the decision-making process and oversight by management and the Board for making payments described in sections 2 and 3 above.
For purposes of this proposal, a “grassroots lobbying communication” is a communication directed to the general public that (a) refers to specific legislation or regulation, (b) reflects a view on the legislation or regulation and (c) encourages the recipient of the communication to take action with respect to the legislation or regulation. “Indirect lobbying” is lobbying engaged in by a trade association or other organization of which Lyft is a member.
Both “direct and indirect lobbying” and “grassroots lobbying communications” include efforts at the local, state and federal levels.
The report shall be presented to the Audit Committee and posted on Lyft’s website.
Whereas clause
we believe in full disclosure of Lyft Inc.’s direct and indirect lobbying activities and expenditures to assess whether Lyft’s lobbying is consistent with its expressed goals and shareholder interests.
Supporting statement
Lyft spent $3,990,000 on federal lobbying from 2018 – 2020. Lyft lobbies extensively at state level, where disclosure is uneven or absent. Lyft has attracted scrutiny for its multi-year, multimillion dollar lobbying campaigns over worker classification in states like California and New York.1
Companies can give unlimited amounts to third party groups that spend millions on lobbying and undisclosed grassroots activity. These groups may be spending “at least double what’s publicly reported.”1 Lyft fails to disclose its memberships in, or payments to, trade associations and social welfare groups (SWGs), or amounts used for lobbying. Lyft belongs to the Consumer Technology Association and NetChoice, which together spent $10,700,000 on lobbying for 2019 and 2020. Lyft fails to disclose payments to SWGs that lobby, like the Americans for Tax Reform.2
We are concerned Lyft’s undisclosed third-party payments are used for undisclosed grassroots lobbying. Lyft has made contributions to community groups that write favorable op-eds as “one facet of a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign aimed at fighting regulations.”3
We believe Lyft’s lack of disclosure presents reputational risks when its lobbying contradicts company public positions or takes controversial positions. Lyft’s lobbying has been compared to the tobacco industry.4 Lyft says it prioritizes racial equity, but civil rights groups charge that gig companies do not offer opportunities for communities of color so much as deepen the desperation of workers who have been excluded from stable employment.5

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