by Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle
April 28, 2025
In 2017, Ahmed Alshamanie went viral for offering karaoke in his car while working for Uber, earning him special recognition from the company.
Originally from Iraq, Alshamanie moved to the U.S. in 2013 after working as a taxi driver. He eventually learned English by working for Uber full-time throughout Portland.
However, his relationship with the company took a turn when Uber deactivated his account in 2020 without explanation, leaving him without that income for two years during the COVID pandemic — a time when he needed to support himself and his family abroad.
Now, Alshamanie is speaking out alongside dozens of other drivers, urging Oregon lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 1166, which would require companies like Uber and Lyft to provide drivers with minimum compensation rates, paid sick leave and the ability to appeal against potential account deactivations.
The bill is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Kayse Jama, D-Portland, who told the Capital Chronicle last week that he introduced the bill after meeting with Uber and Lyft drivers over the summer. Like many of the drivers, Jama is an immigrant who first moved to Portland as a refugee from Somalia more than a quarter of a century ago.
“Uber and Lyft drivers don’t get enough,” Jama said. “They don’t get paid living wages. Increasing their wages will be one area that this is going to be addressing.”
While he had to temporarily work as a delivery and truck driver to supplement income lost from Uber, Alshamanie said he loves his customers and working as an Uber driver.
“It’s my favorite job,” he said. “We work hard to make money for the company. I put insurance, I put tires and I work 60 hours a week sometimes. But we are slaves for this company.”
Some Uber drivers fall into debt on the job
Dozens of Uber and Lyft drivers rallied at Willson Park next to the Oregon State Capitol on Monday morning in support of Senate Bill 1166, which received a hearing in the Senate Rules Committee in the afternoon.
The bill would prohibit transportation network companies from deactivating an account without cause and require an appeal process for drivers whose accounts have been deactivated
It also would establish minimum paid sick time off and create a driver resource center through a nonprofit selected by the Bureau of Labor and Industries.
Peter Kuel, president of The Drivers Union — an association of Uber and Lyft drivers based in Washington — told the Capital Chronicle that drivers face few protections and often fall into debt after investing in new cars to become an Uber.
“The company takes advantage of them,” Kuel said. “It deactivates their accounts, it reduces the prices, and it doesn’t give them any benefits. And all the money goes to the company. I hope the state of Oregon will help these drivers.”
Joe Jackson, a local Uber driver who testified in favor of the bill, shared with the committee that he had to take out a personal loan from a colleague in order to pay rent to avoid missing the birth of his child.
Jackson said if he had access to sick pay for the “decades of committing” himself to Uber, he would not have had to take out a loan.
The committee did not take action on the bill after the hearing on Monday. The bill is still in the early stages of the legislative process, and it must pass both chambers before becoming a law.
Legislative analysts have not yet estimated how much the bill would cost the state of Oregon. If enacted, it would take effect July 1.
Oregon Capital Chronicle Editor Julia Shumway contributed to this story.
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