#DeleteUber Protesters To Rally Outside Uber’s Mid-Market Headquarters This Evening

#DeleteUber Protesters To Rally Outside Uber’s Mid-Market Headquarters This EveningPhoto: thebarkingtweet/Twitter
Carrie Sisto
Published on February 02, 2017

A protest is planned for 5pm today at Uber’s 11th and Market headquarters to oppose company executives’ recent involvement with the Trump administration, and other issues.

The protest is part of a nationwide day of action, according to the Examiner, with others planned in Oakland, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Spokane and other cities across the country.

#Deleteuber has been trending on Twitter and Facebook all week, after drivers appeared to break a taxi strike last Saturday at New York’s Kennedy Airport. Taxi drivers in the city went on strike for an hour to oppose Trump’s order suspending entry to the US for citizens of seven countries—Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Shortly after the strike concluded, Uber broadcasted on Twitter that it had turned off surge pricing, a message that many read as an attempt to capitalize on the taxi drivers’ strike.

Photo: BANDITELLI/Twitter

Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick, who has taken heat for accepting a position on Trump’s business advisory council, took to Facebook last Saturday to defend the company’s reputation, as well as his own. In the message, Kalanick said that he intended to raise the issue of the ban at the group’s first meeting, which he said is to be held tomorrow.

However, the New York Times reports today that Kalanick is stepping down from the council, as "joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the president or his agenda." 

Along with a rush of clients deleting their Uber accounts, there has been a surge of support for competitor Lyft, which pledged to make a $1 million donation to the American Civil Liberties Union shortly after the ban was announced. Uber's struggles have boosted Lyft’s reputation, but Carl Icahn and Peter Thiel—both Trump supporters and advisers—own significant shares in Lyft, according to the New York Times.