Uber drivers started a petition on Thursday demanding that CEO Travis Kalanick immediately resign from President Trump’s Advisory Council because of the administration’s immigration ban—and by the end of the day, Kalanick had complied.
The petition started by the Independent Drivers Guild was addressed to “Uber management” and called for Uber’s chief to cut ties with Trump’s Council, which is made up of business leaders. The petition also called for Uber “to do better to stand up for immigrants” and demanded that the company state publicly that the drivers will not be penalized for acting in protest of the ban.
“As a company whose success is built on a foundation of hard work by immigrant workers, Uber can and should do better to stand up for immigrants,” it reads.
By late afternoon, Kalanick agreed to sever ties with the council. “Earlier today I spoke briefly with the president about the immigration executive order and its issues for our community,” Kalanick wrote in an internal company email, first reported by the New York Times. “I also let him know that I would not be able to participate on his economic council.
“Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the president or his agenda, but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that.”
The petition, which had 686 signatures as of 6 p.m., comes amid the #deleteUber movement in which many customers were outraged that Uber drivers continued to take fares to New York’s JFK airport during a taxi strike last weekend prompted by the immigration ban. Under pressure, Kalanick eventually spoke out against the immigration order and pledged $3 million for a defense fund to help drivers caught up in the travel ban, including compensation for lost earnings for any drivers stranded abroad.
“Uber strongly opposes the president’s unjust immigration ban, which is harming many innocent people, many of whom are drivers,” the company said Sunday
But Thursday’s petition was a sign that drivers weren’t satisfied, and wanted a stronger statement of Kalanick’s opposition to the policies of the new administration.