Faith, you know when you're ordering dinner on DoorDash or UberEats, where you see the total price as you add food to your cart, but when it's time to check out, the total is three times more? This is intentional, Faith. These companies are taking advantage of customers — tacking on confusing and inexplicable "service" and "delivery" and "regulatory" fees at the very end of the checkout process, when your order is so close you can taste it. And that doesn't include tax or tip yet. All together, totals can come out to be more than double of what the actual order is. This is a matter of big corporations gaining too much power in their industry and taking advantage of American families and workers — all in order to line their CEOs' pockets with millions. On top of price gouging consumers, food delivery companies have also historically underpaid delivery drivers and pocketed a major cut on commissions from restaurants. So Senators Bob Casey, Ben Ray Luján, and I just sent a letter to DoorDash and UberEats to call out their use of hidden junk fees to take advantage of American consumers trying to put food on the table while balancing busy schedules. They need to be transparent in their business practices and show us where these mysterious service and delivery fees go. I'm pushing to prevent these companies from taking advantage of customers while lining the pockets of their CEOs. Add your name if you believe companies like DoorDash and UberEats should be held accountable for overcharging customers looking to put food on the table, underpaying drivers trying to make a living, and bullying small businesses with commission rates. One would hope that these companies would at least reinvest their revenue in delivery workers' compensation or cutting down frivolous fees for consumers. But we can't bank on just hope, Faith. Here's where we can see that money is actually going: - In February of this year, DoorDash announced a $1.1 billion round of stock buybacks.
- In March of this year, UberEats initiated a $7 billion stock buyback.
- In 2020, DoorDash went public and had the highest-paid CEO in Silicon Valley, with a total compensation of nearly $413 million.
- Last year, Uber paid its CEO more than $24 million.
And it's not just consumers who are fronting the bill for these excessive salaries and stock buybacks. According to Vox, these companies continue to underpay delivery drivers — without whom there wouldn't be a business. In fact, about half the amount they make on each trip comes from tips. In certain cities like New York and Seattle, where recent laws require delivery apps to pay drivers a minimum wage, an additional "regulatory fee" is added and passed right back to customers. Small businesses are paying the price too. These companies take as much as 30% from each order that is placed through their service. Faith, this is what happens when big companies dominate a market and go unchecked — they're able to overcharge, provide lower-quality service, treat workers and small businesses poorly, while their CEOs and executives take home exorbitant amounts of money. It doesn't have to be this way. So far, Senator Casey and I have reintroduced the Price Gouging Prevention Act, which would protect consumers and prohibit corporate price gouging. We have also introduced the Shrinkflation Prevention Act, which would crack down on corporations that deceive their customers by selling smaller sizes of their products without lowering the price. I'm going to continue fighting these corporations with every tool available to make sure American consumers, workers, and small businesses aren't hurt and taken advantage of. Add your name if you agree that these fees have gotten out of hand and these companies must be held accountable. Thanks for being a part of this, Elizabeth  | 
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