Thousands of Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash drivers and delivery workers will go on strike across the US on Wednesday. The drivers are seeking fair wages, safety protections, and more job security from ride-sharing and delivery apps.
“Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers are TIRED of being mistreated by the app companies,” Justice for App Workers, a national coalition with over 130,000 members, said in a blog post. “Across the country, in Austin, Chicago, Hartford, Miami, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, and Tampa, we’re not taking rides to or from any airport on February 14.”
Rachel Gumpert, executive vice president of Justice For App Workers, called the ride-sharing app industry “an under-regulated Wild West, with no protections, poverty wages, and no oversight.”
“This Valentine’s Day, app workers are striking to transform our industry into one in which we can work with dignity and where we can earn enough to provide for ourselves and our families,” she said.
Rideshare Drivers United (RDU), another driver-led organization in Los Angeles with over 5,000 members, will turn off their apps altogether on Valentine’s Day. RDU said in a blog post that significant pay decreases over the winter are a primary reason for this day of action. Gizmodo was unable to confirm the pay decreases in question.
Rideshare drivers faced an 8% decline in gross earnings per hour in 2023, according to an independent analysis called “The State of Gig Driver Pay,” from Gridwise. The company estimated that the average rideshare driver was earning $20 per hour, after expenses, back in September 2023. Notably, this is very different from Uber’s data, which says its drivers receive over $33 an hour before expenses, up nearly $10 from 2018. Lyft told Gizmodo its drivers earned over $23 an hour after expenses last year.
Whatever a driver’s wages may be, RDU and Justice for App Workers are striking because they feel they’re not being compensated enough. RDU drivers called this winter season “the worst earnings they’ve ever experienced” in a statement.
“I can’t remember having a harder time making money on the apps,” says RDU driver Eduardo Romero. “I am having to work ten hour days to make the same amount I was able to do in six, and even then I’m still not making enough.”
The driver-led organizations hope to send a message to the app companies this Valentine’s Day. RDU says drivers “won’t stop fighting until we’ve won the fair pay and dignity we all deserve.” The organization says similar strikes will occur in San Francisco, San Diego, Portland, and other cities.
Uber and Lyft settled a wage theft investigation by agreeing to pay out $328 million to New York Drivers in November. State Attorney General Letitia James said these companies have “systematically cheated their drivers out of hundreds of millions of dollars” while they work long hours in challenging conditions.
The settlement allowed Uber and Lyft to not admit faul.
“These types of events have rarely had any impact on trips, prices, or driver availability, and we expect the same tomorrow,” Uber said in a statement to Gizmodo. “That’s because the vast majority of drivers are satisfied.”
Uber Eats driver and labor organizer Josh Woods told Bloomberg that rideshare companies recently dampened the effects of a New York minimum wage rule they fought hard to achieve. Uber and DoorDash recently made it more difficult to tip delivery drivers in New York City, according to Bloomberg.
New York passed a new wage law that was supposed to benefit workers, but Uber and Lyft said they’d have to pass the costs onto consumers. As a compromise, Uber and DoorDash reportedly made their tipping options less accessible.
“We are constantly working to improve the driver experience,” Lyft said in a statement to Gizmodo. “Just this month we released a series of new offers and commitments aimed at increasing driver pay and transparency.”