Laval, Que. – March 24, 2022 – When Uber driver Gabriele lost access to his Uber app, he was overwhelmed with stressful thoughts, like how was he going to pay his bills, earn a living, and provide for himself when he was locked out of his primary source of income?

“I felt impatient and insecure about losing my income,” says the Laval-based Uber driver. “But upon taking a closer look at the app, it suggested I contact UFCW Canada for de-activation disputes and I gave it a try. Within two weeks, I was reactivated and earning money again.”

Thanks to a historic national agreement between UFCW Canada and Uber Canada, drivers now have access to representation in the event of an account deactivation.

After driving for Uber for over a year, passing rigorous background checks, and submitting all the required documentation, Gabriele found himself locked out of his app, and in his opinion, at no fault of his own. After repeated failed attempts to raise his concerns with Uber, he felt hopeless.

“The company didn’t clearly explain anything to me, and getting in touch with the correct person at Uber was almost impossible,” says Gabriele.

That was until he reached out to UFCW Canada representatives, who settled his complaint through the dispute resolution service that is now available to all drivers.

“The representatives at UFCW Canada are very nice people. They asked for all my information and documents; they sent everything over to Uber and I was reactivated, back earning money again. As a driver, I am so used to the rating system, and if I had to rate UFCW Canada’s service from one to ten, it would be a ten without question,” Gabriele concludes.

As Canada's leading private sector union, UFCW Canada has worked directly with Uber drivers to organize and advocate for improvements, including before labour boards in Ontario and British Columbia. In January 2022, Uber Canada and UFCW Canada entered an historic agreement that provides drivers and delivery people on the Uber platform access to representation, group discounts, free education and training, and more. To learn more about the benefits available to Uber drivers via UFCW Canada representation, visit our website for drivers and delivery people on the Uber platform.