Ahmad Fawad Yusufi was resting in his automotive after giving Uber rides round San Francisco when he was shot and killed within the early morning of Nov. 28.
His household is now demanding that the rideshare big take some duty for the dying by offering for his household and bettering working situations for different drivers.
In a letter despatched to Uber executives Thursday shared with The Hill, Yusufi’s household is requested for $4 million in help to the late Afghan refugee’s spouse and three younger kids.
“Only my brother work[ed] in the family… his wife, she cannot drive nor speak English,” Mohammed Yusufi, Ahmad’s brother, instructed The Hill in a cellphone name. “[Uber] needs to take care of them.”
A spokesperson for Uber stated the corporate is “saddened by this senseless act of violence that took Mr. Yusufi’s life.”
“Our hearts go out to his family during this difficult time,” they added.
However, the corporate famous that Ahmad Yusufi was not giving rides or on-line on the time of the accident. His final journey was at evening on Nov. 27.
Mohammed Yusufi, who goes by Ilyas, says that rationalization is not adequate.
The Yusufi brothers had each labored for Uber since fleeing from Afghanistan three years in the past. Based in Sacramento, Calif., they’d journey into San Francisco to get extra enterprise and sleep of their automobiles at evening to make it worthwhile.
“They said he is not working for Uber,” Ilyas Yusufi defined. “You go from Sacramento to work in San Francisco. If you get a break for a few seconds it does not mean he is not working or is off the job.”
A police investigation into the 31-year-old’s dying is ongoing. The household says the capturing got here after a botched try and steal his pockets.
Ilyas Yusufi instructed The Hill he is aware of over 100 Afghan drivers that make the identical commute into town and keep of their autos as a result of they don’t earn sufficient to afford wherever else to sleep.
That scenario is precarious for the drivers, Ilyas Yusufi stated, recounting a time when one of his buddies had their window smashed in whereas resting in between giving rides in Oakland, Calif.
Cherri Murphy, an organizer with the Bay Area group Gig Workers Rising, stated that Uber is conscious of that danger.
“Uber knows this is happening,” she stated in a press release. “When they learned about Ahmad’s killing, Uber washed their hands of him. That’s simply unacceptable.”
Ahmad Yusufi’s dying comes amid an increase in violence towards rideshare and different gig employees.
There are a minimum of 10 reported situations of Uber drivers being killed since 2016.
A latest evaluation by The Markup discovered 124 situations of rideshare and supply app carjackings over a 12 months and a half. Eleven individuals died because of this of these assaults.
Many gig employees attacked on the job say the businesses they work for as impartial contractors have finished little to assist with medical payments or property injury. They typically flip to GoFundMe campaigns within the absence of assist from the businesses, one thing which the Yusufi household has finished as effectively.
The household had raised a little bit over $50,000 of their $100,000 purpose as of Thursday morning.
Beyond the $4 million in help, Ilyas Yusufi and the remainder of the household are asking for improved pay for all drivers and entry to Ahmad Yusufi’s Uber account.
“When my brother and I drove to San Francisco every weekend, we could never afford a hotel room after delivering your customers around the city all night,” Ilyas Yusufi wrote within the letter on behalf of the household. “We drop people like you off to your multi-million dollar homes every day. We deserve a safe, hospitable place to sleep at night afterwards.”
A spokesperson for Uber instructed The Hill the corporate is actively working to grant the household entry to Yusufi’s account.