Resolved clauseResolved:
Shareholders of Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Uber”) request that the Board of Directors commission an independent third-party audit on driver health and safety, evaluating the effects of Uber’s performance metrics, policies, and procedures on driver health and safety across markets.
The audit should be conducted with input from drivers, workplace safety experts, and relevant stakeholders from the regions where Uber operates and consider legislative/regulatory developments and adverse media coverage. A report on the audit, prepared at a reasonable cost omitting confidential and proprietary information, should be publicly disclosed on Uber’s website.
Supporting statementSupporting Statement:
The largest ride-hail company globally, Uber strives to be “the safest way to go anywhere and get anything,” yet leaves its drivers worldwide facing pervasive health and safety issues.
In its 2023 statement in opposition to this proposal, Uber stated that an independent audit on
safety was unnecessary as “we are currently undertaking an independent third party civil rights assessment that incorporates many of the same requests.”1 That was not accurate; the civil rights audit was United States-focused, not conducted with a health and safety perspective, and its recommendations said Uber should “explore adding additional safety metrics to current disclosures.”2 Additionally, Uber only releases United States safety reports, which do not include nonfatal/attempted assault, verbal abuse, carjackings/robberies, threats, etc.
In the United States, Uber drivers represent almost 1 percent of job-related deaths. A recent report revealed that 83 app workers were murdered on the job from 2017 to 2021; a study of over 900 drivers found that 67 percent experienced violence/threatening behavior in the last year, and 60 percent continued rides that made them feel unsafe because they were worried about deactivation or income loss.
Independent reporting suggests a global driver safety crisis. Australian authorities fined Uber for neglecting to report over 500 serious incidents, some resulting in hospitalizations, and witnessed “a concerning surge in UberEats driver fatalities.”3 Instances range from assaults due to route choices in Montreal, fatalities following robbery attempts in Calgary, assaults on drivers in Australia, reports of violence in India, racially motivated verbal and physical assault in the United Kingdom, and drivers attacked and carjacked in Brazil, resulting in them demanding increased protection against theft and robbery.
We are especially concerned that Uber's policies may discourage drivers from reporting safety incidents. If drivers decline or cancel too many rides, Uber can issue penalties. Drivers also report that Uber deactivates them while investigating incidents. In April 2023, a Dutch appeals court also ruled Uber violated drivers’ rights in several instances, including when algorithms were involved in terminating driver accounts.
Lawmakers, regulators, media, public health practitioners, and the public have scrutinized the safety crisis. The lack of transparency and failure to adequately investigate and address driver health and safety issues pose significant financial, regulatory, and reputational risks to Uber.
We urge shareholders to vote FOR this proposal.
1 https://s23.q4cdn.com/407969754/files/doc_financials/2023/Stockholders2023/final-2023-proxy.pdf
2 https://s23.q4cdn.com/407969754/files/doc_governance/2023/Uber-CRA-Report-August-2023.pdf
3 https://www.smh.com.au/national/spate-of-rider-deaths-a-tragedy-uber-chief-executive-20201125- p56hz4.html