Following President Donald Trump’s Muslim travel ban, Uber was highly criticized over the weekend with accusations of “strike breaking” in New York City.
Trump’s executive order, which prohibits travel to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries, caused hundreds of people to protest at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport.
Shortly after his order, the viral hashtag #DeleteUber quickly spread when the ride hailing service company tweeted, “Surge pricing has been turned off at JFK Airport. This may result in longer wait times. Please be patient.”
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The post became controversial due to the company’s lack of compliance with the New York Taxi Worker’s Alliance, which vowed to protest against the President’s order by temporarily halting service to and from the airport.
#deleteUber Here's the NY Taxi Workers Alliance Statement on the refugee ban. @Uber is still trying to go to JFK anyway pic.twitter.com/qQAkPm2r9s
— Eric Murphy (@EricRMurphy) January 29, 2017
Uber said this was not the company’s intention, stating, “We’re sorry for any confusion about our earlier tweet—it was not meant to break up any strike. We wanted people to know they could use Uber to get to and from JFK at normal prices, especially tonight.”
However, the company still received harsh criticism from thousands who erased the app, including Jesse Williams, Janelle Monae and Taraji P. Henson.
Went ahead and did that but don't forget to support the Taxi Workers' Alliance as well. https://t.co/XxzbdEUAYz #deleteuber pic.twitter.com/bJlG2BvD8V
— jesse Williams. (@iJesseWilliams) January 29, 2017
DELETING @UBER RIGHT THE FUCK NOW!!! #WeThePeople #LoveWILLwin #FuckHate #FuckOppression if you support HATE YO ASS GETS DELETED #BYEBITCH pic.twitter.com/tqGrgWTg7A
— Taraji P. Henson (@TherealTaraji) January 29, 2017
Dan O’Sullivan, who first started the hashtag #DeleteUber via Twitter, said in an interview, “Trump is losing and is going to keep losing. Anyone who sticks with him will lose, too…Let this be a warning: if you are a corporation who thinks you will ride out Trump, and quietly make money at his side, you will be made to pay a price.”
