“Right and wrong have become blurred” says Uber driver Goodman

Before Canada had a minimum wage law in 1920, workers were exploited with long hours and low pay, lacking legal protection. Gig workers today face a similar, ugly situation.

The difference now is that with the modern propaganda, misinformation, facts manipulation and unlimited access to the top lawyers, it’s harder than ever to see the truth clearly. ‘Right’ and ‘wrong’ have become blurred.

–Uber driver Vitaly Goodman

Transcript of Vitaly Goodman’s remarks:

“I am upset because they lied to me. The wealthy cannot understand the struggles of the poor.

How can an Uber CEO who gets $24 million a year in bonuses alone, possibly understand me a full time Uber driver who worked the whole last year and earned only $8900 after expenses?

 They simply can’t.

I moved to Canada 23 years ago, and I settled in Toronto, a city I truly love and proudly call home.

When I arrived, my friends and I started the business. We didn’t have much money, so we brought in an investor. He fixed up his office, invited his friends over, and kept talking about how great he was.

Meanwhile, we worked day and night, building the business from nothing. We shared the same business, but our goals were very different.

This is what’s happening today. Companies like Uber call drivers and couriers their “partners,” but in reality, we are both in the same business of ride or food delivery services, but with completely different interests.

Before Canada minimum wage law in 1920, workers were exploited with long hours and low pay, lacking legal protection. Gig workers today face a similar, ugly situation.

The difference now is that with the modern propaganda, misinformation, facts manipulation and unlimited access to the top lawyers, it’s harder than ever to see the truth clearly. ‘Right’ and ‘wrong’ have become blurred.

On December 17, you have the chance to create real change. If you will allow unlimited PTC licenses, as suggested in the draft resolution, it will only help companies continue to exploit workers. In November 2023, we were told there would be big problems with the ride availability if the number of licenses was limited to 52,000; now they’re using the same argument, but pushing to 80,000 drivers, even though the number of trips hasn’t increased significantly.

Of course, nothing happened, pure misinformation and blackmail. The only change that really happened is the drivers’ income went even further down. We are now doing the same amount of work, but by splitting it among roughly twice as many drivers on the road, and I encourage you to take action.

We are not New York City. Let drivers work with the pride for their families, their city and their country. If you are uncertain, start with the pilot project for six months or a year, see the results and adjust if needed, exactly the same way like have you done with the bike lanes pilot project on the Bloor Street, and when it was successful, you extended it. Why are we always speculating about numbers? You have all the tools to do it as a pilot and keep going from there.

Don’t let these companies mislead you and fool you. Listen to the people who elected you. You have the power to make a difference. This decision is in your hands.