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At around 5 am on November 28, 31-year-old Ahmad Fawad Yusufi was asleep in his car in the parking lot of a San Francisco playground, when someone walked towards the car, tried to steal his wallet, and shot him dead. Afghan immigrant Yusufi, who came to the US on a special visa after working as a translator in the US army, had come to town from his home in Sacramento to take an Uber and was trying to get some rest between shifts.
Yusufi’s family, which includes his brother, wife and three children, have been desperately searching for answers since that terrible night, and now they say Uber must do its part to help. in a letter to the company published today Through business group Gig Workers Rising, Yusufi’s brother Mohammed, who goes by the name Ilyas and refers to Ahmad as a brother, outlined three requests: access to Yusufi’s Uber account, $4 million in emergency relief to the family, and better yet, for all Uber drivers. make a payment. (İlyas is also a chauffeur in the company.)
Uber initially responded to the murder by saying that Yusufi “appeared offline” at the time of the shooting and refused to share any records or documents of account activity with his family or the press.
In the letter, Ilyas highlighted one of the main disadvantages of concert work, questioning whether being offline in the app means that Yusufi does not work for Uber. “My brother Ahmed was killed while driving for your company. You lied when you told the press that you weren’t working for Uber at the time of his murder. He was in San Francisco to work for Uber… He took a break after working for Uber that night.”
Yusufi moved from Afghanistan to California three years ago; This is a necessary security measure after his time helping the US military. Ilyas says that Yusufi is a basic provider for the family, and they try to get by with various measures, including. a GoFundMe pageYusufi’s wife and children do not have sufficient financial means.
Increasing security concerns
Concert drivers in the US are no strangers to violent crime. A final investigation The Wall Street Journal reported that drivers accounted for 11% of car thefts in Minneapolis, although the company declined to share statistics. A report without marking In July, there were 124 confirmed car thefts and attempted car thefts against co-drivers in the previous year and a half.
Uber has rolled out several new safety features, including quick access to 911 officers, the ability to broadcast GPS coordinates to police response teams, and a voice recording option released this month. But with some precautions one of the most dangerous jobs in the countryand some groups of drivers and workers, such as the Independent Drivers Guild, blamed The company is not doing enough to keep its employees safe. Some began to take matters into their own hands, spraying pepper spray, installing security cameras, and even carrying weapons.
Yusufi is one of many Afghan refugees living in Sacramento who took an Uber in San Francisco where there was more demand for vehicles (some of them 56% of all concert workers immigrants in San Francisco). Ilyas says Yusufi left Sacramento for the Bay Area to work for Uber on Friday, November 26, and sleeps in his car as much as possible between trips – a common practice for drivers who can’t afford hotel rooms. According to İlyas, a friend of Yusufi’s friend, who was also a driver, said that they were resting in the car when the shooting was fired.
Uber only allows drivers to stay active on the app for 12 hours before requiring a six-hour break; This is a move aimed at providing safer driving conditions. During breaks, naps or meals, drivers will close their apps to maximize the time allotted to earn money.
In the letter, Elijah says the low wages of Uber drivers “maintain very dangerous working conditions, with hundreds of Afghan drivers driving from Sacramento to San Francisco every week and sleeping in unsafe environments in their cars, only to earn enough money to make enough money each week.” their families.”
What counts as work
Uber has yet to respond to the letter, although the company has been in contact with the family. An Uber spokesperson told MIT Technology Review before the letter was published, “We regret this senseless act of violence that took the life of Mr. Our hearts go out to her family at this difficult time.”
After receiving no response from the San Francisco Police Department, Ilyas and his brother’s family are eager to learn more about the circumstances of Yusufi’s death. Ilyas tried to access Yusufi’s Uber account and says it has been disabled. He tried reaching out to Uber regarding the matter, and he said Uber said it was against their policy.
local news channel on 5 December ABC10 reports that Uber says Yusufi ‘appears offline’ during shooting.
In a phone call with MIT Technology Review, an Uber spokesperson said that Yusufi was not active on the app from midnight on November 28 to 5 am, but was active on November 27 when police intervened. Uber rejected the app. explain the relevant times. The company also refused to submit documents of Yusufi’s driving records to MIT Technology Review when requested, citing privacy concerns.
Yusufi’s case cuts to the heart of a contentious debate over whether concert workers qualify as employees of a company. California state law has gone back and forth on this over the past few years, and in 2020, Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart spent nearly $200 million lobbying for a measure that would exclude gig workers from paid benefits. it breaks. This law was passed on Proposition 22, 2020, but shot by a judge unconstitutionally. While the appeal process continues, concert staff will remain unprotected.
For Yusufi’s family, it doesn’t matter whether he was actively using the Uber app during the shoot. From their perspective, Elijah says he’s in San Francisco to take an Uber. “We are refugees in this country. We do not have good information. We are new,” he says. “We have no one to support us. They can do whatever they want.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to Ilyas as Ahmed Yusufi’s cousin. They are actually brothers.
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