Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies is pouring more money into defeating Portland’s minimum wage referendum ahead of the November election.
The San Francisco-based company registered a new ballot question committee with the city last week. The committee, United for Portland Workers, has spent nearly $31,000 so far, mostly on research and polling with a New York firm.
The money adds to the $75,000 Uber already has contributed to other committees opposed to Question D. The company has donated $50,000 to Enough is Enough, which is opposed to all 13 referendums in Portland, and $25,000 to Restaurant Industry United.
“In addition to threatening restaurant jobs, small businesses and the local economy, Question D threatens the flexibility drivers and couriers overwhelmingly desire,” an Uber spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. “Time and again, from coast to coast, we have seen that people who chose to work on the Uber platform, do so because they want to be independent contractors working where, when, and how often they want. We are committed to fighting on their behalf.”
Question D was put on the ballot by the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America’s Livable Portland campaign. The question seeks to raise the minimum wage in the city to $18 per hour by 2025 and it also eliminates the sub-minimum, or tip credit, wage. In addition, certain categories of workers such as taxi drivers and those who work for ride-hailing services like Uber and who don’t currently receive the minimum wage, would be included in the pay bump.
“They don’t want to pay their workers more,” said Ethan Strimling, a former mayor who is a member of DSA and the Livable Portland campaign, when asked about the latest spending from Uber. “It’s the same reason the National Restaurant Industry is spending so much money and why DoorDash is spending so much money.”
The National Restaurant Industry has donated $50,000 to Restaurant Industry United, which is opposed to Question D due to the tip credit elimination. DoorDash, like Uber, has donated $50,000 to Enough is Enough and $25,000 to Restaurant Industry United.
In a statement this month, a spokesperson for DoorDash said that Question D “would have a devastating impact on the ability of local businesses – including the merchants we support in Portland – to serve their customers, while threatening the flexible earning opportunities that Dashers overwhelmingly tell us they value.”
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