Drivers for Uber and Lyft went on strike Wednesday for better pay.
What We Know:
- Drivers in 10 cities across the country for Uber, Lyft, and Juno, a smaller ride-hailing company took action in order to draw attention to what they call a lack of job security and declining wages.
- There are strikes happening in a range of cities from San Francisco to London. Drivers are criticizing the companies for unfair working conditions. They want clarity on how the app calculates their earnings, more benefits, and better wages.
- The New York Taxi Workers Alliance organized the rally in New York City and tried to reach out to fellow drivers through social media and robocalls, according to CNN. However, at the end of 2018, New York City passed the country’s first minimum pay rate ($17.22 per hour) for drivers who work for ride-hailing companies.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2020 election contender with a platform focused on labor issues went to Twitter and showed his support for drivers. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also stood behind the drivers by urging people to boycott Uber and Lyft.
- The strike took place a few days before Uber’s initial public offering. When companies go public, it typically means a lot of money for executives of the company and occasionally a nice amount for employees. The estimation of Uber’s worth once trading begins could be as high as $91 billion, according to NPR.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Uber announced they will continue working to make improvements for drivers.
Uber is not a poor company. It paid its top five executives $143 million in compensation last year, including $45 million to its CEO.
So why are Uber drivers struggling to put food on the table?
I stand with striking Uber and Lyft drivers today. The greed has got to end. pic.twitter.com/4esvwHApjX
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 8, 2019
🗣Labor, labor – read all about it!
Your Direct Action for today: Don’t take an Uber or Lyft just for the day. (Just today! Cabs are fine! You can do it!)
It’s a small but big way you can help all the drivers you’ve met get paid more to feed their families + support themselves. https://t.co/oaQZsYqukV
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 8, 2019
