Thousands of drivers across popular ride-share apps, including Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash, are set to go on strike Wednesday in a Valentine’s Day push for fair pay.
Various drivers groups are behind the strike, which comes on the heels of an announcement that Lyft would guarantee weekly earnings for drivers, and demonstrations are set to occur in numerous locations, according to a report.
Ride-share drivers are widely considered to be independent contractors, and many have accused their platforms of keeping a disproportionate amount of total commissions, the report noted.
“This is the biggest strike I’ve ever seen, thousands and thousands of drivers,” Jonathan Cruz, a driver from Miami and member of the Justice For App Workers coalition, said.
“It’s going to be nationwide.”
Uber declared only a tiny portion of its total drivers participate in strikes such as the one going down on Valentine’s Day, and they tend to have little impact on Uber’s business, according to the report.
Uber drivers in the United States earned roughly $33 per utilized hour in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said.
Nevertheless, Nicole Moore, president of the California-based Rideshare Drivers United union, does not feel drivers, some whom drive full-time, are getting what they need and deserve.
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“A year into algorithmic pricing, drivers have seen incredible decrease of our pay … whatever calculations and algorithms they’re using, it’s absolutely useless,” Moore said.
Monthly average earnings for Uber fell 17.1% in 2023, the report noted.
