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tennessee
Lyft, Uber Drivers Banned From Tennessee Airport After Caravan for Pro-Worker Bill
"Uber, Lyft, and Metro Nashville Airport Authority are engaging in an inappropriate and malicious alliance to destroy dozens of livelihoods," said the Tennessee Drivers Union.
Mar 03, 2025
A Tennessee union announced Monday that 34 Uber and Lyft drivers received messages "informing them that they had been permanently banned" from working at Nashville's airport after joining scores of workers for a peaceful caravan there last month to support a state bill that would impact the companies.
The Tennessee Drivers Union (TDU) said in a statement that some participants, "including those in the passenger's seat not driving," were banned from providing rides at Nashville International Airport following the February 14 action, during which "participating Uber and Lyft drivers had their apps turned off."
In a message to one Uber driver obtained by Common Dreams, the company said that "Nashville International Airport (BNA) notified us that you conducted a pickup on the arrivals level of the terminal. Please note that all pickups must occur in the Uber-designated zone."
"Due to the nature of the incident, the airport is restricting certain driver-partners from accepting rides or dropping passengers off at BNA permanently, pursuant to the terms of Uber's agreement with the airport," Uber continued. "Your account appeared on the list. For that reason, your account has been permanently blocked from operating at BNA. Contact the airport for more information."
A message to a Lyft driver similarly said that "it has been reported that you were conduct detrimental to the orderly operation of the airport. That being said, at the request of the airport, you are prohibited from operating on BNA airport property indefinitely."
"To prevent future suspensions, carefully review the BNA rules and regulations," Lyft added. "Please note, citations may be given if you operate on BNA property during your suspension, and you will be responsible for paying them."
Lyft and Uber have not responded to Common Dreams' requests for comment on the bans, which come as working people face high costs and a billionaire-led assault on the federal government.
TDU said Monday that "Uber, Lyft, and Metro Nashville Airport Authority are engaging in an inappropriate and malicious alliance to destroy dozens of livelihoods. The airport is one of the only opportunities for ride-share drivers to make barely above minimum wage."
"This is an attack against dozens of workers, their families, and their communities," the union continued, noting the millions of dollars in fees the airport gets from drivers and Metro Nashville Airport Authority CEO Doug Kreulen's $600,000 salary.
As Common Dreamsreported last year, TDU has sounded the alarm about working conditions for drivers at BNA. Union members kicked off Labor Day weekend in 2024 with a strike to draw attention to demands including a cap on the number of ride-share drivers in the area, an expansion of their airport lot, and clean, working bathrooms on-site.
TDU said Monday that "this retaliation isn't a mistake," arguing that "Uber and Lyft are threatened" by Tennessee House Bill 879/Senate Bill 818, introduced last month by state Rep. Rush Bricken (R-47) and Sen. Joey Hensley (R-28).
The bill text begins by highlighting that "Tennessee is the only state in the Southeast that allows out-of-state ride-hail drivers to operate within the state, while Tennessee ride-hail drivers may not work in surrounding states."
"Tennesseans who live and work in our communities, contributing directly to our local economy, struggle to compete with an oversaturated market of out-of-state drivers," the legislation explains, calling for "a basic licensing regime."
The bill would require ride-hail drivers operating in the state to have a "transportation network license," which would require a Tennessee driver's license, or proof of residency in DeSoto County, Mississippi, or Crittenden County, Arkansas.
Companies that allow drivers to provide rides without a Tennessee-issued transportation network license would be hit with a $1,000 penalty per violation and could ultimately be banned from operating in the state.
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10 Million Kids at Risk of Hunger Unless GOP-Led States Embrace Summer EBT Program
"Summer can be the hungriest time for children," said one anti-hunger advocate.
Dec 16, 2024
A dozen states are poised to walk away from a combined $1.14 billion in federal funding that would help alleviate hunger for nearly 10 million children next summer, according to Food Research & Action Center, or FRAC, a nonprofit that addresses poverty-related hunger.
The 12 states, all of which are GOP-led, face a January 1 notice of intent deadline to participate in the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Program, also known as SUN Bucks. Under the food assistance program, families with eligible school-age children can get $120 per summer to buy food.
"Summer can be the hungriest time for children," said Crystal FitzSimons, FRAC's interim president, in a Monday statement. "This funding is an opportunity for states to ensure children have access to the nutrition they need to grow, thrive, and return to school ready to learn. No child should have to go hungry during the summer months, especially when solutions like Summer EBT exist."
Currently, Idaho, Alaska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida are set to potentially not participate in the program for this coming summer, according to FRAC. All other U.S. states, Washington, D.C., all U.S. territories, as well as the Cherokee Nation and the Chickasaw Nation are participating this coming summer.
The Summer EBT Program is one of multiple Summer Nutrition Programs administered through the U.S Department of Agriculture. Last summer, the SUN Bucks "bridged the gap" for some 21 million children in 37 states, as well as D.C., all U.S. territories, and multiple Native American tribes, per FRAC.
While the Summer EBT Program, or SUN Bucks, doesn't have widespread name recognition, a poll conducted by Data for Progress this past summer found that once voters read a description of the policy, it enjoyed strong bipartisan support from voters.
The governor of Tennessee has indicated that he will not renew the Summer EBT Program for the state, according to NBC News, despite the fact that FRAC estimates that hundreds of thousands of children would be eligible for the benefit this coming summer. According to FRAC, the program would result in approximately $77.2 million in benefits for struggling families in Tennessee.
FRAC and at least one other group are urging the governor to change course. According to NBC's reporting, advocates say Tennessee presents a particularly acute need for the program because the state's topography can make it hard for families to reach food banks or other meal distribution sites. Also, some communities in the eastern part of the state that struggle with hunger and poverty were also impacted by Hurricane Helen earlier this year.
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Supreme Court Signals It Will Uphold 'State-Sanctioned Discrimination' in Transgender Care Case
"We the people means all the people," said the ACLU. "There is no 'transgender' exception to the U.S. Constitution."
Dec 04, 2024
Attorneys who argued against Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming healthcare at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed hope that the court's nine justices will take "the opportunity to affirm the essential freedom and equality of all people before the law," while reports indicated that the right-wing majority is inclined to uphold the ban.
"Every day this law inflicts further pain, injustice, and discrimination on families in Tennessee and prevents them from receiving the medical care they need," said Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, staff attorney at the ACLU of Tennessee, which represented three families and a physician. "We ask the Supreme Court to commit to upholding the promises of the U.S. Constitution for all people by putting an end to Tennessee's state-sanctioned discrimination against trans youth and their families."
The law, S.B. 1, which was passed in March 2023, bars medical providers from prescribing puberty-delaying medications, other hormonal treatment, and surgical procedures to transgender minors and youths with gender dysphoria.
The Supreme Court case, United States v. Skrmetti, applies only to the ban on puberty blockers and hormonal therapy for minors; a lower court found the plaintiffs did not have legal standing to challenge the surgery ban.
The ACLU, the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and a law firm were joined by the Biden administration in arguing that Tennessee allows doctors to prescribe puberty blockers and other hormonal treatments for youths with congenital defects, early puberty, diseases, or physical injuries.
As such, said the plaintiffs, Tennessee's ban for transgender and nonbinary youths violates the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal treatment under the law.
"My heart—and the heart of every transgender advocate fighting this fight—is heavy with the weight of what these laws mean for people's everyday lives."
The court's three liberal justices—Justices Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—all indicated they believed Tennessee has tried to classify people according to sex or gender with the law.
"One of the articulated purposes of this law is essentially to encourage gender conformity and to discourage anything other than gender conformity," said Kagan. "Sounds to me like, 'We want boys to be boys and we want girls to be girls,' and that's an important purpose behind the law."
Matthew Rice, the lawyer representing Tennessee in the case, claimed the state simply wants to prevent "regret" among minors, and the court's six conservative justices signaled they were inclined to allow Tennessee to ban the treatments—which are endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other top medical associations.
Chief Justice John Roberts said the nine justices should not overrule the decision made by lawmakers representing Tennessee residents, considering there is debate over the issue, and pointed to changes some European countries have made to their gender-affirming care protocols for minors.
Representing the Biden administration, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar acknowledged that there has been debate about gender-affirming care in the U.S. and abroad, but pointed out that countries including the U.K. and Sweden have not outright banned treatment.
"I think that's because of the recognition that this care can provide critical, sometimes lifesaving benefits for individuals with severe gender dysphoria," she said.
Following the arguments, plaintiff Brian Williams, who has a 16-year-old daughter in need of gender-affirming care, addressed supporters who had assembled outside the Supreme Court.
"Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming medical care is an active threat to the future my daughter deserves," said Williams. "It infringes not only on her freedom to be herself but on our family's love for her. We are not expecting everyone to understand everything about our family or the needs of transgender young people like our daughter. What we are asking for is for her freedom to be herself without fear. We are asking for her to be able to access the care she needs and enter adulthood knowing nothing is holding her back because of who she is."
Sotomayor said there is "very clear" evidence "that there are some children who actually need this treatment."
A 2022 study led by researchers at the University of Washington found that transgender and nonbinary youths aged 13-20 were 60% less likely to experience moderate or severe depression and 73% less likely to be suicidal after receiving gender-affirming care.
Prelogar asked the justices to "think about the real-world consequences of laws like S.B. 1," highlighting the case of a plaintiff identified as Ryan Roe.
Roe had such severe gender dysphoria that "he was throwing up before school every day," said Prelogar. "He thought about going mute because his voice caused him so much distress. And Ryan has told the courts that getting these medications after a careful consultation process with his doctors and his parents, has saved his life."
"But Tennessee has come in and categorically cut off access to Ryan's care," she added. "This law harms Ryan's health and the health of all other transgender adolescents for whom these medications are a necessity."
Tennessee is home to about 3,100 transgender teenagers, and about 110,000 transgender youths between the ages of 13-17 live in the 24 states where gender-affirming care is restricted.
More than 20 states have laws that could be impacted by the court's ruling in United States v. Skrmetti.
"My heart—and the heart of every transgender advocate fighting this fight—is heavy with the weight of what these laws mean for people's everyday lives," said Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project. "But I also know that every out trans person has embraced the unknown in the name of living free from shame or the limits of other people's expectations."
"My heart aches for the parents who spent years watching their children in distress and eventually found relief in the medical care that Tennessee now overrides their judgment to ban," said Strangio. "Whatever happens today, tomorrow, and in the months and years to come, I trust that we will come together to fight for the realized promise of our Constitution's guarantee of equal protection for all."
A ruling in the case is expected in June.
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