According to Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Ubers, there are two types in Ubers' world: drivers and office workers. There will be another difference between the two, apart from differences in benefits and salaries. Drivers will not need to be vaccinated in order to drive, while office workers will have to be vaccinated.AdvertisementKhosrowshahi explained the reasons behind Uber's vaccination requirements in a Thursday interview with CNBC. Khosrowshahi said that it was easy to mandate white collar workers get vaccinated, considering their health risks, variants and the fact they work together for eight to ten hours per day. Uber informed employees in July that it would force employees to return to work and require vaccinations.It's not easy to prioritize drivers' health when it comes to their safety. Khosrowshahi stated that it would be fair to require vaccines for both drivers and riders, given that they are sharing a small space. Uber has not decided to do this. Uber has instead asked drivers to wear masks and leave the windows open in order to protect themselves.Khosrowshahi stated that it would be fair for riders and drivers to have vaccines. There are over 100 million riders and drivers who move around on a monthly basis. We believe that everyone should be vaccinated.Khosrowshahi explained that Uber was uncomfortable with mandating that millions of people get vaccinated. The company employs more than 22,000 people. Many of the company's drivers are contractors.It is wrong to place that responsibility, or that level of decision-making authority, on a company. These mandates, if they are pushed, should be pushed through local or federal governments. He said that this is the direction Uber was going in and added that Uber would support any mandate from the government.Given our customer-obsessed culture, I can understand why riders are reluctant to get vaccines. However, it seems strange to mandate vaccines only for one group of workers. Are they all critical to the success of the company? If so, are they not at risk of contracting the virus together? Drivers are more at risk due to the sheer volume of people they transport.AdvertisementKhosrowshahis statement that riders and drivers should be vaccinated is outrageous. Then he says Uber will do the exact opposite. He isn't a driver so he can accept a world that is a little more unfair.
