DoorDash is facing a lawsuit from San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin for “illegally misclassifying employees as independent contractors,” Boudin tweeted today. In the complaint, Boudin argues that DoorDash misclassified its employees and thereby engaged in unfair labor practices.

“Misclassification of workers results in the deprivation of the employment protections to which they are entitled by depriving workers of, among other things, minimum wage and overtime pay, unemployment insurance and protection from discrimination,” Boudin said in a press release. “[…] Now more than ever, given the COVID pandemic, we need to protect our workers, especially the essential workers who deliver food to us every day.”

In a statement to TechCrunch, DoorDash noted how it has supported its employees during the pandemic by providing them with safety equipment, telemedicine and more.

“Today’s action aims to disrupt Dashers’ essential services, deprive hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, parents, retirees and other Californians of valuable job opportunities, deprive local restaurants of much-needed revenue, and make it harder for consumers to prepare “Food, groceries and other essentials are safe and reliable,” said Max Rettig, global head of public policy at DoorDash, in a statement. “We will fight to continue to offer Dashers the flexible earning opportunities they want during these challenging times.”

This lawsuit comes at a time when gig worker rights groups have called on companies like DoorDash, Uber, Lyft and Instacart to comply with AB 5. AB 5, which went into effect earlier this year, determines what type of workers can and cannot be classified as independent contractors.

The law codifies the ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles. In this case, the court applied the ABC test and held that Dynamex misclassified its employees as independent contractors.

Under the ABC test, for a hiring company to legally classify a worker as an independent contractor, it must demonstrate that the worker is not subject to the hiring company's control and direction, performs work outside the scope of the company's business, and does so on a regular basis independently founded business or a similar company. In the lawsuit, Boudin describes DoorDash as failing to meet the standards of the ABC test.

“DoorDash’s misclassification of its Dashers was not a mistake, but rather a calculated decision to reduce the cost of doing business at the expense of the workers who provide the company’s core service of delivering goods from merchant to customer,” the lawsuit says Conditions.

The lawsuit seeks to have DoorDash stop classifying its employees as independent contractors and be fined up to $2,500 for each violation and up to $2,500 for each violation involving a senior or disabled person.

DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, Postmates and Instacart are sponsoring a ballot measure aimed at allowing them to classify workers as independent contractors. Meanwhile, Uber and Lyft face a misclassification lawsuit from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and city attorneys from Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

This lawsuit argues that Uber and Lyft deprive workers of the right to minimum wage, overtime, access to paid sick leave, disability insurance, and unemployment insurance. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, seeks a $2,500 penalty for each violation, possibly per driver, under California's unfair competition law and an additional $2,500 for violations involving seniors or people with disabilities.

The post San Francisco DA sues DoorDash for classifying supply employees as impartial contractors appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

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Photo credit: DoorDash / File Photo

DoorDash is facing a lawsuit from San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin for “illegally misclassifying employees as independent contractors,” Boudin tweeted today. In the complaint, Boudin argues that DoorDash misclassified its employees and thereby engaged in unfair labor practices.

“Misclassification of workers results in the deprivation of the employment protections to which they are entitled by depriving workers of, among other things, minimum wage and overtime pay, unemployment insurance and protection from discrimination,” Boudin said in a press release. “[…] Now more than ever, given the COVID pandemic, we need to protect our workers, especially the essential workers who deliver food to us every day.”

In a statement to TechCrunch, DoorDash noted how it has supported its employees during the pandemic by providing them with safety equipment, telemedicine and more.

“Today’s action aims to disrupt Dashers’ essential services, deprive hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, parents, retirees and other Californians of valuable job opportunities, deprive local restaurants of much-needed revenue, and make it harder for consumers to prepare “Food, groceries and other essentials are safe and reliable,” said Max Rettig, global head of public policy at DoorDash, in a statement. “We will fight to continue to offer Dashers the flexible earning opportunities they want during these challenging times.”

This lawsuit comes at a time when gig worker rights groups have called on companies like DoorDash, Uber, Lyft and Instacart to comply with AB 5. AB 5, which went into effect earlier this year, determines what type of workers can and cannot be classified as independent contractors.

The law codifies the ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles. In this case, the court applied the ABC test and held that Dynamex misclassified its employees as independent contractors.

Under the ABC test, for a hiring company to legally classify a worker as an independent contractor, it must demonstrate that the worker is not subject to the hiring company's control and direction, performs work outside the scope of the company's business, and does so on a regular basis independently founded business or a similar company. In the lawsuit, Boudin describes DoorDash as failing to meet the standards of the ABC test.

“DoorDash’s misclassification of its Dashers was not a mistake, but rather a calculated decision to reduce the cost of doing business at the expense of the workers who provide the company’s core service of delivering goods from merchant to customer,” the lawsuit says Conditions.

The lawsuit seeks to have DoorDash stop classifying its employees as independent contractors and be fined up to $2,500 for each violation and up to $2,500 for each violation involving a senior or disabled person.

DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, Postmates and Instacart are sponsoring a ballot measure aimed at allowing them to classify workers as independent contractors. Meanwhile, Uber and Lyft face a misclassification lawsuit from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and city attorneys from Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

This lawsuit argues that Uber and Lyft deprive workers of the right to minimum wage, overtime, access to paid sick leave, disability insurance, and unemployment insurance. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, seeks a $2,500 penalty for each violation, possibly per driver, under California's unfair competition law and an additional $2,500 for violations involving seniors or people with disabilities.

The post San Francisco DA sues DoorDash for classifying supply staff as unbiased contractors appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

San Francisco International Airport Reaches New Heights in Sustainable Project Delivery | Engineering News Record

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SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Faction Technology, Inc., a driverless-technology company offering solutions that solve inefficiencies in micro-logistics and vehicles on demand, announced it is bringing driverless delivery to portions of the San Francisco Bay Area. Faction’s first partner is Cocola Bakery, which is using Faction to reliably deliver to its customers around the metro region. Deliveries will be made in lightweight, electric vehicles based on three wheel EV platforms from Arcimoto, Inc. (NASDAQ: FUV) and from ElectraMeccanica (NASDAQ: SOLO). Since July, Faction has made regular deliveries to the bakery’s customers and it’s now looking to add additional delivery partners in the coming months.

Equipped with Faction’s DriveLink® and TeleAssist® technologies, the company’s vehicle combines fleet autonomy with remote human teleoperation to carry out its deliveries. These technologies allow faction to provide businesses like Cocola Bakery with a delivery service that seamlessly delivers goods via a driverless fleet in an affordable, safe, and predictable way.

“Cocola Bakery and our customers have been ecstatic with the services Faction has provided us so far,” said Amir Aliabadi, CEO of Cocola Bakery. “We are now able to quickly, affordably, and reliably deliver our products to customers around the Bay Area, something we couldn’t easily accomplish before due to inconsistent gig-worker services.”

Through this initial launch, Faction continues to develop the technology powering its remote and driverless delivery solutions. New customer routes are first qualified with vehicles using safety drivers, in addition to being supervised by TeleAssist operators. System performance and road data are collected during every delivery to aid faction in consistently improving its technology and further expanding its services for Cocola Bakery and future customers.

“Our partnership with Cocola is just the beginning of what we have planned for Faction,” said Faction CEO, Ain McKendrick. “We’re achieving our cost and delivery targets while securing the data necessary to bring Faction and our technology to more partners in the coming year. The next phase is to make our services available to additional commercial customers in the Bay Area – restaurant chains, hardware stores, auto parts stores, and others – to maximize the use of our operating fleet while streamlining delivery in an affordable, reliable, and seamless way way.”

Faction is expanding its delivery services within the San Francisco Bay Area, and is currently opening up driverless delivery for other partners starting at under $2 per mile. Businesses interested in Faction and what its technology can do for them should contact Faction with the information below.

For more information on Faction and Cocola Bakery, visit www.faction.us or www.cocolabakery.com.

About faction

Faction Technology, Inc. is a Silicon Valley startup that develops driverless solutions based on light electric vehicles. Founded in February 2020, Faction is on a mission to revolutionize micro-logistics and vehicles-on-demand. The company believes the future of sustainable transportation is to develop driverless vehicles that are safe, cost-effective, and right-sized to serve a range of use cases for both business and passenger transportation needs. Faction currently powers driverless delivery in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, and will expand into other metro regions in 2023. Faction also partnered with GoCar Tours, Inc., to facilitate driverless delivery of GoCar EV Sport Tour vehicles from GoCar’s depots to select pickup counters at partner locations in cities including Las Vegas, Monterey, San Francisco, and San Diego. For more information visit www.faction.us.

The post Faction Introduces Driverless Supply for Tech-Ahead Companies in San Francisco Bay Space; Cocola Bakery Is First Companion appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Once the boxes are filled and crammed into car trunks and back seats, the volunteers caravan across San Francisco to make deliveries to expectant and new Black moms.

The “Sunday Show Ups” began at the start of the pandemic when Gebre noticed that few of the Black Patients at her Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital clinic were taking advantage of a pantry a doctor had set up for pregnant patients. Concerned about insufficient outreach to a vulnerable population during an uncertain time, Gebre sought donations on social media for her Black patients and the grassroots effort took off.

“There were disparities in access to masks, access to education and factual information around the pandemic,” Gebre says. “Out of this hard period, we created a space where we can engage in conversations and give back to the community in a positive way.”

One Love Black Community organizer Asmara Gebre speaks with expectant mother Tanisha Bell about resources for her newborn in Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco, on Nov. 13, 2022, during the organization’s ‘Sunday Show Up.’ (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

The focus on Black women is personal and purposeful: Gebre, 34, was living in a home for single moms more than 15 years ago. She relates to the multitude of challenges her patients face. As a medical professional, she has seen Black women suffer from higher rates of pregnancy-related complications and preterm births even as the city’s Black population dwindles.

In San Francisco, Black families make up half of the city’s maternal deaths and 15% of infant deaths (PDF) despite representing just 4% of all births. City data also shows nearly 14% of Black infants are born prematurely compared with 7.3% of white infants. It’s a cause for alarm because preterm babies are more likely to experience chronic disease, not to mention learning and behavioral difficulties in school.

At first, the donations included masks, hand sanitizer, diapers, children’s books, produce and money. The cash donations allowed Gebre to distribute $200 per woman — no strings attached.

As her network of volunteers grew, so did her reach.

Cassandra Perkins (left) and Asmara Gebre pose for a portrait on Treasure Island after making all their deliveries during One Love Black Community’s ‘Sunday Show Up’ on Nov. 13, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

With the help of her most dedicated volunteer Cassandra Perkins —to outreach coordinator for the San Francisco Department of Public Health – they expanded their deliveries to new moms participating in the California Black Infant Health program and pregnant women who are unhoused. They also aligned with several Bay Area initiatives that are trying to address Racial inequalities to improve Black maternal health.

Perkins has spent the last 23 years working in HIV and family planning clinics in the city’s marginalized Black neighborhoods. She has an easy smile and is the kind of person who gives away books, socks and toiletries stashed in her car to give away to people she meets on the street.

She calls the Sunday show-ups her church.

“I look like them so it’s easier for them to relate to me … just to inform, educate and be of service and always treat people with dignity and respect and you get it back tenfold,” Perkins says.

She said after the women leave the hospital and recover at home, many of them miss out on information about services focused on Black women’s health. The home visits are filling a crucial gap in postpartum care and establishes One Love Black Community as a reliable source of information to a community wary of outsiders after experiencing decades of poverty, environmental injustice and racial discrimination.

Bayview-Hunters Point became a Black neighborhood in the 1940s as African Americans from the Gulf Coast migrated to the Bay Area to work at the nearby Navy shipyard. After World War II ended, jobs evaporated. Black people, who were limited in where they could live in San Francisco due to discriminatory housing policy, were left languishing in substandard housing surrounded by pollution left over from the shipyard.

“If they show initiative in how much they care to help you, then that’s the most helpful because they make you want to put more initiative into yourself,” says Charise Haley, who met Perkins when she was living on the streets and pregnant with her now 10-month-old son.

Haley, who continues to cope with losing her partner to suicide, says she’s close to receiving a subsidized apartment.

“Cassandra is one of my favorite people because if it wasn’t for her actually believing in what I can do, I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now,” she says about Perkins.

Haley was among seven women who received deliveries on one Sunday last month.

Charise Haley picks up her son Isaiah from his toy car outside of her home in San Francisco on Nov. 13, 2022, during a visit by One Love Black Community volunteers. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

I ride with Gebre in her SUV that’s cluttered with baby supplies in the back and her half-eaten breakfast in the front. A tireless multitasker, she also finds time to lead Black Centering, a program at UCSF where she organizes nature walks, CPR classes and other community-building activities for expectant Black parents.

Perkins and Katiana Carey-Simms, a midwifery student, follow in two other cars filled with supplies. Meanwhile, Gebre’s son Devin comes along to pack and haul boxes.

We go uphill to an apartment complex overlooking the bay and meet Crystal Hill, who is receiving her first delivery from One Love Black Community. Inside her unit, football plays on the TV while Hill’s 2-month-old boy lays in a baby swing.

Big pots of stew simmer in the kitchen, and the aroma prompts Gebre to offer to sign Hill up for six weeks of meals delivered by Postpartum Justice, an organization that recruits Bay Area restaurants to cook nourishing meals for Black women healing from childbirth.

“I need to start getting healthy because I have high blood pressure and diabetes that stayed with me after [pregnancy],” Hill, 40, tells her.

“This would be a beautiful transition, just having some nice meals and sharing with the family and thinking differently,” Gebre replies.

A short drive later, we stop at the Bayview home of a pregnant woman Perkins recently met while shopping at Safeway. Perkins urges the woman, who declines to be interviewed, to enroll in the Abundant Birth Project because she is in her first trimester and thus eligible. The guaranteed income program gives $1,000 per month to a randomly selected group of Black and Pacific Islander pregnant women who face some of the greatest degrees of income inequality in one of the nation’s most expensive cities.

Sabrina Hall holds her newborn, Harleigh Quin, at her home in Bayview on Nov. 13, 2022, while visiting with volunteers from One Love Black Community. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

The experiment is part of a growing number of guaranteed income programs responding to racial and economic inequality by giving unconditional cash directly to people in need. Abundant Birth’s goal is to ease financial stress for these women and improve their health outcome.

Gebre suspended her monthly cash gifts due to tax reasons, but said she’ll resume it as soon as she receives proper fiscal sponsorship.

She estimates 300 women have received deliveries from One Love Black Community in just over two years. This Christmas, she hopes to show up for 100 families with the help of volunteers from a Black sorority.

She recalls the small acts of kindness that made a big difference for her when she was raising Devin in the Santa Cruz area. Once, when she volunteered at a horse ranch so he could get free riding lessons, a woman slipped a surprise in the book Gebre was reading.

“I remember one day I was running out of gas and was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get through this week of school.’ I opened the book and there was $100 in cash in there,” Gebre says. “There were so many moments where my community showed up for me. Little things here and there, but they add up.”

She says she’s driven to give back because of the support she received.

When we reach Sabrina Hall at her home in an industrial part of the Bayview, Gebre and Perkins pitch the postpartum meals and online support group for Black moms facilitated by UC San Francisco.

Hall, 41, says she developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy and suffered nerve damage and other complications after delivering her daughter, Harleigh Quin, three weeks early. The baby weighed just 5 pounds.

The experience was nonetheless an improvement from four previous pregnancies, Hall says. She participated in the guaranteed income study, and says the extra cash helped her buy baby gear and catch up on some bills.

“With my other kids, no one told me about doulas. [There was] just a lack of education,” Hall says. “This birth, I had a doula, I had Black Infant Health — you know, just the support. I had no one to speak for me with the medical office or the staff. And this time I had an advocate.”

Boxes filled with diapers, formula, and other essentials are loaded into a car to be delivered to mothers throughout San Francisco and Treasure Island as a part of One Love Black Community’s ‘Sunday Show Up’ on Nov. 13, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/ KQED)

Back in the car, Gebre says since the guaranteed income pilot launched two years ago, she noticed patients who receive the money participate more actively in their prenatal care. For example, patients in transitional housing were more likely to find transportation to show up for their appointments.

“I have not met one patient who doesn’t care about their pregnancy or want the best for themselves and their baby, although there are so many factors around them that are influencing their ability to engage or not engage in the kind of quality of care that they want,” she says. “When you’re able to provide additional resources to minimize those stress factors — that burden, that toll is no longer present — you can notice the difference in patients and how they engage in care.”

She drives across a section of the Bay Bridge and exits onto Treasure Island, passing a housing construction project and new ferry terminal. She parks in front of a cluster of townhouses to check on her former patient Danesha Johnson.

“How are you?” Gebre asks while hugging Johnson, who gave birth a month earlier.

“The recovery is fine, no complications. I’m fine,” the 21-year-old says.

When Johnson’s partner, Darrian Burrows, comes out to carry the supplies inside, Gebre tells Perkins that he assisted her in the delivery room and caught his daughter when Johnson made her final push. Perkins remembers seeing him in the hospital when Johnson was in labor, and she’s overcome with emotions.

“That was so beautiful for you to be in the tub with her when she was going through labor to help ease things,” she says as tears fill her eyes.

“You’re giving me the chills because I work in our communities of color and they’re always giving our men a hard time,” Perkins continues. “And some programs, there’s something for the mom and the baby but they don’t want the dad involved. So just to see you all as a couple and loving one another and having a baby brung into this world together …”

Bearing witness to a happy, healthy birth makes her want to keep this thing going, she says.

The post Diapers, Meals and Money: San Francisco Group Helps Black Mothers, One Supply at a Time appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Amazon said Tuesday it will pause work on a proposed last-mile warehouse in San Francisco’s Showplace Square after the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed legislation that placed an 18-month moratorium on all new parcel delivery services in the city.

In a statement a company spokesman said, “We will continue to evaluate our long-term use of the site, and in the short-term we will work with our neighbors to look at ways to use the location to serve the community.”

The company’s announcement came after the board voted 10-0 to back the moratorium, which was crafted in part as a response to Amazon’s plan to build a 725,000 square foot warehouse at 900 7th St.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin recused himself from the vote because he owns stock in Amazon.

While the board didn’t discuss the legislation at Tuesday’s meeting, the vote was preceded by a fiery rally in front of City Hall at which organized labor, environmental watchdogs, and residents of San Francisco’s southeast neighborhoods denounced Amazon’s expansion plans.

With an 18-wheeler emblazoned with a “Teamster” banner as a backdrop, Jason Rabinowitz, president of Teamsters Joint Council 7, said “the type of jobs we don’t need to have are the Amazon style poverty jobs that are underpaid, unsafe , include no rights at work.”

“Good jobs uplift our community,” he said. “Amazon style poverty jobs drag us all down.”

Folks attend a press conference at Civic Center Plaza that urged passage of temporary moratorium legislation on Amazon and other parcel delivery service facilities in San Francisco.

Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle

Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton, who represents the neighborhood where the logistics center would be located, said that if Amazon wants to build in the district it will have to negotiate a community benefits package similar to deals struck with major waterfront developers.

“You can go and ask Pier 70. You can ask the (Potrero) Power Station. If you are going to come into our neighborhoods you are going to talk to the people in the neighborhood. You are going to provide them with community benefits,” he said.

The legislation passage is a big win for a broad coalition of organized labor, including the Teamsters, the United Commercial Food Workers, Service Employees International Union and the Building Trades Council.

Jim Araby, strategic campaign director with the United Food & Commercial Workers, said the legislation would “Create the process necessary to hold large corporations like Amazon accountable to the community, the workers and the elected officials.”

“This legislation is the first step to make sure there is an actual process, that you can’t just plop down a 700,000 square foot in the middle of a community and say we are going to buy you off with five dollars and an ice tea ,” he said.

JK Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen

The post Amazon pauses work on proposed San Francisco warehouse after metropolis supervisors vote on supply moratorium appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

On the Clock is Motherboard’s reporting on the organized labor movement, gig work, automation, and the future of work.

San Francisco introduced legislation on Tuesday that would place an 18-month moratorium on parcel delivery facilities in the city, a move specifically designed to slow down and investigate Amazon’s rapid expansion of its last-mile delivery operations in the city.

If passed, the legislation would be the first of its kind in a major metropolitan area in the United States to put a moratorium on Amazon warehouses, and lay a foundation for other cities looking to have a say in how Amazon operates in their communities. The bill is expected to pass unanimously, according to those familiar with the legislation.

“Cities are saying we have to push back against companies like Amazon,” said Shamann Walton, the president of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors whose district is the site of several new Amazon warehouse developments. “My hope is that with this legislation we’re able to make Amazon be a responsible employer and make them have conversations with the community. If that doesn’t happen then they won’t get the opportunity to do business here in San Francisco.”

The bill would impose “zoning controls” on the approval of all new parcel delivery service facilities to “allow time for” an investigation on how these facilities impact the communities they operate in, and to establish regulations “to encourage development which provides substantial net benefits and minimize undesirable consequences.”

In particular, the legislation is intended to give communities in San Francisco the chance to push back against low-paying jobs, pollution, and traffic congestion that Amazon brings into the city. Activists who are worried about Amazon’s expansion say that land being used to build more Amazon warehouses could be better used for green space or affordable housing in cities like San Francisco, which are suffering from a decades-long housing crisis and that new jobs should pay workers high enough wages to be able to live in the city.

Although Amazon’s name does not appear in the legislation or resolution, the bill’s proponents told Motherboard it is specifically designed to force Amazon to slow down its expansion into the city.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We want Amazon to pause and have a dialogue with the community, not just try to buy off groups,” said Jim Araby, the strategic campaigns director at UFCW Local 5, which represents 30,000 grocery store workers in northern California and has pushed for the bill. “If the bill passes, like any big project, the planning department will recommend mitigations for a job to be approved and Amazon will have to show the city how it will mitigate impacts, for example, by committing to all electric vehicles. That process, unlike the current one, will take two years instead of three to six months.”

Many of these fights, including the new push for legislation in San Francisco, are being led by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which launched a coordinated national effort, known as the Amazon Project, in May to unionize the e-commerce giant which it argues is dragging down working conditions across the logistics industry. In small towns and cities across the country, the Teamsters alongside other activists have been declaring victories in struggles to block Amazon warehouse plans and tax breaks. The moratorium bill would be a similar victory that they hope would have widespread impact.

Temporary moratoriums on warehouse facilities have passed in other, smaller California cities—and the bill’s backers—a group of labor, community, and environmental activists, expect the bill to pass unanimously in San Francisco.

“There’s concern from the board of supervisors about what happens when package delivery companies come in and pay $21 an hour with no retirement benefits, and flood the neighborhood with cars and trucks,” said Doug Bloch, the political director of Teamsters Joint Council 7, which represents UPS drivers in northern California.

UPS drivers, who are Teamsters union members in San Francisco, earn more $100,000 a year with pensions and healthcare benefits, Bloch noted. According to a town hall meeting led by Amazon in November, Amazon pledges to pay its San Francisco delivery drivers $21 an hour, and warehouse associates $17.25 an hour—less than a dollar more than San Francisco’s minimum wage of $16.32 an hour.

“As blue collar workers, we need to support each other, we need to raise standards. Amazon’s delivery drivers are getting paid far less than we do doing the same job,” said Philip Javier, a 32-year UPS employee who works and lives in San Francisco and earns $39.97 an hour. “I can still afford to live in this city I love because I have a union job.”

“We’re not against Amazon’s growth,” Bloch said, noting that Amazon packages fuel job growth for UPS drivers who are unionized. “But why should Teamsters make two times as much doing the same work for the same company as an Amazon subcontracted delivery driver? It’s about setting standards for a company that can afford to do the right thing for workers and communities and climate.”

During the pandemic, Amazon has rapidly expanded its last mile delivery station network in the United States in order to fulfill same-day and next-day deliveries. Delivery stations are Amazon’s smallest style warehouse and are often located in cities and suburbs, allowing the company to decrease the time it takes to deliver packages to areas with a high-density of Prime customers. Amazon already has three delivery stations in the city of San Francisco, and labor activists have tallied at least 28 Amazon delivery stations in the Bay Area.

There is also controversy over the San Francisco mayor’s office’s quiet agreement with Amazon to begin negotiating the terms of an Amazon delivery station in September at the site of a waste-management company formerly unionized with the Teamsters that could have been used to build 1,000 units of housing. The new legislation is accompanied by a resolution to put a hold on the planning for this Amazon project.

Walton, the president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the city’s top legislative body, says that with this deal and others, Amazon so far “hasn’t shown respect to their neighbors” in the city. “If you bring in a big business and employ a lot of people who aren’t part of that community, you start pushing people out because you take over the area,” said Walton. “Where do these folks have to go? You move out people who are already in the area.”

The legislation was brought to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors by the San Francisco Southeast Alliance, a group of residents, environmental groups, and labor unions. The alliance formed in September to advocate against the pernicious effects of Amazon facilities moving into San Francisco.

“I believe this law will send a message to Amazon in general that San Francisco is a labor city,” said Joel Gonzalez, a produce clerk at Andronico’s supermarket in San Francisco and a member of UFCW local 648. “If you’re going to come here and build your warehouses, you must respect your workers and unions that respect their workers.”

The post San Francisco Proposes Moratorium on New Amazon Supply Stations appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Grubhub and DoorDash have filed a lawsuit against San Francisco after capping delivery fees to 15% last month.

On Friday, the two food suppliers filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California arguing that the maximum fees are in violation of both the U.S. and California constitution. Court documents show that DoorDash and Grubhub argued that the cap could potentially lead to higher prices for consumers and affect delivery couriers, among other things.

“The City of San Francisco has passed hasty, adverse and unconstitutional price controls that leave us no choice but to resolve this matter in court,” a DoorDash spokesman said in a statement shared with SFGATE. “Constant price controls are not only against the US and California constitutions, but will likely harm the restaurants the city claims to support. The introduction of permanent price controls is an unprecedented and dangerous exaggeration by the government and will limit the ways small businesses rely on to compete in an increasingly competitive marketplace. “

The delivery companies also said that the 15% fee cap could affect business as it would entail renegotiating or terminating existing contracts with local restaurants. Part of their reasoning was based on marketing and other services that DoorDash and Grubhub said were unable to cover the costs.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who co-sponsored the law in June, condemned both grocery companies in a tweet Friday following the complaint. He wrote that he was not surprised at the lawsuit.

“Hardly surprising of giant corporations that have just spent over $ 200 million to deprive their own workers of basic services,” wrote Peskin on Twitter. “I stand by small businesses and my legislation to stop the rampant exploitation of the San Francisco restaurant industry.”

No wonder with giant corporations that have just spent over $ 200 million to stamp out basic services for their own workers.

I stand by small businesses and my legislation to stop the rampant exploitation of the San Francisco restaurant industry. https://t.co/1j3rmGcelK

– Aaron Peskin (@AaronPeskin) July 17, 2021

Last April, Mayor London Breed announced a temporary fee cap to prevent grocery delivery apps from charging restaurants more than 15% to help local businesses stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, it was said that the provisional order should remain in place until the remainder of the local emergency or until restaurants can reopen for dine-in service.

Court documents argue that with the advent of vaccinations, the local emergency has been “mitigated”. San Francisco was summoned to court on Monday.

The post DoorDash, Grubhub sue San Francisco over its 15% cap on supply charges appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 7, 2021 / PRNewswire / – Emjay, a fully vertical cannabis delivery and retail company with offices in California, today announced its extension to the San Francisco Market with a new facility dedicated exclusively to delivery. The company that already has millions of households in the San Diego and The angel Land – is now available in over 400,000 households. to disposal San Francisco and City of Daly with free delivery on the same day or on schedule.

Recently on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Emjay is presented in San Francisco today with a team of carefully selected W-2 employees to ensure quality and trustworthy delivery experiences with friendly and helpful service.

“San Francisco is one of the largest US markets for cannabis use. But since recreational cannabis was legalized in California Five years ago, the SF community did not have access to a great delivery offering with a wide choice, “said Emjay CEO Chris Vaughn. “Our opening in San Francisco represents a major milestone for Emjay as we continue our expansion across Europe Californiathat will include Oakland and the rest of the Bay Area this year. We are excited to grow in this vibrant community and offer them top quality flowers, vapes, pre-rolls, edibles, concentrates and supplies at prices better than any other pharmacy or delivery service in the area.

Emjay is available to customers seven days a week. to disposal 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The company offers free 60 minute pre-scheduled delivery with real-time tracking. Emjays $ 25 Minimum order quantities, coupled with some of the lowest prices in the state, aligns with Emjay’s mission to provide world-class delivery service to everyone within the cannabis community.

With delivery and retail locations in The angel, La Mesa California, and his new foray into San Francisco, Emjay continues to work on his mission to serve communities around the world California with a safe and easy way to buy cannabis.

For more information, please visit https://heyemjay.com/cannabis-delivery-san-francisco

About Emjay

Emjay was launched in early 2019 and is the leading one California-based cannabis delivery and retail platform designed to create the best cannabis shopping experience for consumers. Emjay – with retail locations in The angel and La Mesa California – Offers a wider choice than its competitors, available for immediate and on-time delivery, at prices that match or exceed competing pharmacies and services.

Emjay’s main focus is on building consumer trust. It does this through white-gloved customer service, the compilation of a diverse menu of premium cannabis products, and the wide range of courier onboarding and training. As one of the few vertically integrated retail and delivery platforms, Emjay owns and operates their own infrastructure that enables them to offer incredible prices and better service to their customers. “All the grass. None of the markup.” You can shop at heyemjay.com

SOURCE Emjay

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Welcome to pm Intel, your bite-sized roundup of Bay Area food and restaurant news. Tips are always welcome, leave them here.

• The San Francisco board of directors met on Thursday June 10th to discuss introducing a permanent cap on which third-party delivery apps – like Grubhub, DoorDash, and Uber Eats – can charge restaurants, and it goes on, with a vote expected next week. The law would put a permanent fee cap of 15 percent, a measure temporarily passed in 2020, while allowing restaurants to sign a separate marketing agreement with businesses for other services. However, the manager behind the proposal, Aaron Peskin, was absent from the meeting – on the same day he announced that he was going into alcohol treatment after complaints about his behavior and allegations that he was under the influence during recent board meetings. Peskin, the longest-serving member of the board, has also added changes and delayed the permanent rollout of parklets, which was discussed earlier this week and will be voted on June 22nd. [SF Chronicle]
• The chefs behind the pan-African ghost kitchen, The Bussdown in Oakland, are working on a new concept with a series of monthly supper club dinners starting on Sunday June 27th. OKO, by chefs Solomon Johnson and Mike Woods, will serve an eight-course tasting menu highlighting the African and Afro-Latin American diaspora in a loft in Oakland’s Melrose neighborhood, before moving on to the monthly series on the way to Napa, Los Angeles and Washington, DC (so far) does. . Johnson and Woods have plans beyond the Supper Club – they plan to open OKO as a fine-dining restaurant in 2022. The first dinner will have two seats for 25 guests each at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., with tickets starting at $ 165 per person. Tickets can be purchased through Tock.
• Cafe Ohlone, the world’s first and only Ohlone restaurant, lost its former place in Berkeley last July when the bookstore it was located in closed, but a full-service restaurant is now occupying the campus UC Berkeley take shape. During a webinar on Thursday with Professor Kent Lightfoot of UC Berkeley, owners Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino confirmed that the new Café Ohlone is due to open in November 2021 at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, as reported for the first time by Berkeleyside. [Berkeleyside]
• Long headquartered in San Francisco but founded in Los Angeles, See’s Candies turned 100 this week after weathering the Great Depression, World War II, recession, and pandemic. The nostalgic confectionery company, now owned by investor Warren Buffet, celebrates its 100th anniversary with the recent debuts of new stores in Southern California and Las Vegas – a total of 251 stores in its 100 years in business. [Mercury News]

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