The law firm LegalRideshare LLC is establishing the Driver Safety Fund in an effort to protect rideshare drivers from an increasingly dangerous environment. The mission of the Driver Safety Fund is to provide gig workers with the tools they need to stay safe and to bring alleged perpetrators of violence to justice.
LegalRideshare LLC co-founder and attorney Bryant Greening said his firm will donate $10,000 to purchase dash cameras for Chicago-based gig workers. The firm will allocate an additional $40,000 as rewards for the convictions of persons who assault or carjack gig workers.
“We refuse to sit by idly as the rideshare and gig companies fail to protect their workers,” Greening said. “If the billion-dollar corporations won’t step up, we gladly will.”
Dash cameras are known to protect gig workers in multiple ways. First, they serve as a deterrent to potential bad actors. Second, they provide essential evidence to law enforcement investigating alleged crimes.
“Dash cameras are the single most important safety tool a rideshare driver can install in her vehicle,” Greening said. “Its mere presence makes a criminal think twice.”
LegalRideshare LLC hopes the fund will be instrumental in locating the alleged killers of Uber driver Joe Schelstraete, who was shot last week while picking up passengers in Cicero, Illinois.
Greening said his firm hopes to regularly replenish the Driver Safety Fund. “We want this program to be a success. We need this program to be a success,” Greening said. “We’ll keep funding the Driver Safety Fund for as long as it’s keeping drivers safe and removing criminals from our streets.”
LegalRideshare LLC regularly uses its resources to protect rideshare and gig workers. Last year, the firm offered a “sick-day” program for drivers who lost wages due to COVID-19, and publicly denounced the rideshare companies for failing to support workers. In 2018, the firm secured drivers’ right to advertise in their cars, providing a source of income for workers who often struggle to earn more than minimum wage.
Edited by Maryssa Gordon, Senior Editor, Price of Business Digital Network
