Uber, Lyft drivers are striking at 10 US airports on Valentine's Day. Here's why.
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that rallies will occur at airports and the strike will last all day.
A group of drivers from Uber, Lyft and DoorDash are striking on Valentine's Day, demanding better pay and safer working conditions.
"We expect thousands of rideshare drivers to participate in this in cities across the country," Rachel Gumpert, a spokesperson for the coalition Justice for App Workers, told USA TODAY on Tuesday.
The coalition said the striking drivers are rallying airports in 10 U.S. cities from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, and are not providing rides all day.
"While Silicon Valley and Wall Street take an ever-increasing cut of driver earnings, they’re raising rates on passengers, and expecting consumers and workers alike to accept their increasing corporate greed," according to a news release from Justice for App Workers.
In response, Uber told USA TODAY in a statement that strikes "have rarely had any impact on trips, prices or driver availability."
Lyft said in a statement that the company is "constantly working to improve the driver experience, which is why just this month we released a series of new offers and commitments aimed at increasing driver pay and transparency."
Lyft announced last week that it would guarantee that drivers would make "70% or more of rider fares after external fees each week."
Photos:Uber, Lyft drivers strike in US, UK on Valentine's Day
Where are Uber and Lyft drivers striking?
Justice for App workers said the rallies are being held at airports in the following cities:
- Austin
- Chicago
- Hartford
- Miami
- Newark
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh
- Providence
- Tampa
Demanding more pay, struggling to survive
In Los Angeles, about 50 drivers shut down a local street near an Uber office in the neighborhood of Historic Filipinotown on Wednesday, repeatedly blasting an air horn, chanting, “Drivers united will not be defeated,” and carrying signs that read, “No deactivation without representation.”
Francisco Magdaleno, a 55-year-old Uber driver living in Los Angeles, waved a sign that said: “It’s time for a breakup with Uber and Lyft” alongside a picture of a broken heart.
“We need changes,” he told USA TODAY. “It’s not fair that investors should be getting paid before drivers. We are barely surviving.”
On a $50 Uber fare, for instance, Magdaleno said he only makes $25 and struggles with the high cost of living in the nation’s second-largest city.
“We demand them to pay us more,” he said.
Delivery drivers in the United Kingdom also struck on Valentines Day, refusing orders. Some protestors parked in front of what appears to be delivery app Deliveroo CEO Will Shu's London home and honked their horns.
Up to 3,000 people participated in the strike, according to the BBC.
Uber said that the strikes had no impact on the app's operations. "In most markets, there are more drivers on the road today than there were during the same period last week," a spokesperson said.
What do Uber and Lyft drivers make?
An average Lyft drivers’ gross hourly pay was $21.44 in the second quarter of 2023 and an Uber driver's hourly pay was $18.80 in the second quarter of 2023, according to the gig-work data tracking app Gridwise.
A Lyft white paper said that drivers earned $30.68 gross per hour of engaged time in the second half of 2023.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that drivers made $33 per utilized hour in the fourth quarter on the company's fourth quarter earnings call, according to Reuters.
