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In pay protest, drivers at Lyft and IPO-bound Uber take to the streets
Drivers working for Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. are on strike today over pay conditions, which comes on the brink of Uber’s blockbuster initial public offering of stock this week.
The protest is global, with hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers taking to the streets of San Francisco, New York City, Washington D.C. and other American cities. Over in the U.K., hundreds more drivers in the cities of London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Glasgow are also in streets demanding better wages and holiday pay.
According to the New York Times, drivers in New York stood outside the Uber headquarters shouting, “Driver Power,” though that report said only about 50 drivers were protesting. The driver’s complaint was simple, which went along the line of “We’ve turned you into this behemoth of a company and we are treated badly.”
Although some drivers in the U.K. and U.S., as well as cities in Australia, have turned off the app today for 24 hours, it’s reported that drivers have been sent incentives to keep driving. “The pressure is getting to Uber,” tweeted Gig Workers Rising. “Now that we’re organizing, they’re upping rates on the morning to try get drivers. Don’t be fooled.”
There are also reports that Uber has been offering passenger discounts, which could be related to the protests. “I just got a push notification from Uber that there’s a 20% off coupon available this week,” tweeted one person, adding archly, “I’m sure the fact that there’s a driver strike Wednesday is a total coincidence.”
In the U.K., Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn got in on the act, asking that the people, “stand with these workers on strike today, across the U.K. and the world.” In the U.S., organizers of the protests have called the treatment of workers “disgusting,” in view of the IPO that is expected to haul in up to $90 billion.
Both Uber and Lyft have said that wages are not unfair, citing studies that say Uber’s drivers make on average $21 an hour and Lyft’s make $20 an hour. Other studies have showed different results, though, once drivers’ costs are considered.
Photo: Antoine Imbert/Flickr
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