NEW YORK, NY — Uber and Lyft users in major cities nationwide will have to make due with fewer drivers or find alternative modes of transportation Wednesday as thousands of drivers plan to strike. Organized protests are planned in at least 10 cities, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago and Atlanta, according to Rideshare Drivers United- Los Angeles. The group called for strikes on all ride-hailing platforms beginning at midnight.
Drivers in some cities plan to shut off their apps for 12 hours to 24 hours, while others plan to strike for only a couple hours. Demonstrations are expected at major airports and hubs for the two ride-hailing giants.
The move comes shortly after Lyft went public in late March and ahead of Uber’s much-anticipated initial public offering this week, The Washington Post reported. Uber was expected to raise roughly $9 billion in its IPO and could be valued at as much as $91 billion.
Most ride-hailing drivers work part-time. Lyft told The Post in a statement that access to “flexible, extra income” makes a large difference for millions of people and that its driver’ hourly pay has climbed over the last two years.
Uber said its drivers are at the “heart” of its service and that it “can’t succeed without them.”
In New York, drivers with Uber, Lyft, Juno and Via voted to strike in solidarity with other drivers. That strike was planned to last two hours during the rush-hour commute. A rally was then planned outside the headquarters of Uber, Lyft and the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. The citywide strike is meant to call for increased job security, “liveable” incomes and fare regulations.
“I’m striking for my kid’s future. I have a 5-year-old son, and I drive for Uber to support him,” Sonam Lama, an Uber driver and member of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said in a release. “But it’s becoming harder and harder. First Uber cut the rates, then they put too many cars on the roads so there weren’t enough fares to go around.”
The group wants Uber to answer to workers, Lama added, not to investors.
“The gig economy is all about exploiting workers by taking away our rights,” said Lama. “It has to stop. Uber is the worst actor in the gig economy. Uber claims that we are independent contractors even though they set our rates and control our workday.”
In Los Angeles, 4,400 members of Rideshare Drivers United are demanding that Uber “immediately reverse” a recent 25 percent cut. They also want both companies to guarantee that drivers receive a minimum rate of $28 an hour, which the group says equates to $17 an hour after expenses. A picketing demonstration is planned at Los Angeles International Airport terminals followed by a rally where drivers can speak about the impact of their reduced wages.
“Uber estimates that 15 percent of their revenues come from airport pick-ups” said Karim Bayumi, a Lyft driver who typically works at the airport. “We provide an essential service, but Uber and Lyft investors are the only ones reaping the benefits. Our picket and rally will show that rideshare drivers will not be invisible — we demand justice.”
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Drivers were considered independent “driver partners” initially, but that changed when the State Department of Labor ruled in 2017 that drivers in New York were actually employees.