This Valentine's Day could be a difficult day for some users of the Uber, Lyft and DoorDash platforms: thousands of drivers will join a strike in several cities in the United States to demand better salaries from the companies behind the mobile transportation applications and services union groups announced.
"Uber, Lyft drivers, and food delivery drivers are TIRED of being mistreated by app companies," the Justice for App Workers organization, which brings together about 100,000 drivers, said in a statement.
[An Uber driver who was very famous on social networks is assaulted and murdered]
"We will not accept travel to or from any airport on February 14"
between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., according to the statement.
The strike will take place in cities such as Austin, Chicago, Hartford, Miami, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island and Tampa.
"This is the biggest strike we've ever seen... thousands and thousands of drivers, it will be national," Jonathan Cruz, a driver in Miami and member of Justice For App Workers, told the Reuters news agency.
Uber and Lyft drivers during a strike in May 2019. BRIAN SNYDER / REUTERS
It is the first action of its kind since Uber and Lyft went public in 2019.
Drivers "will turn off their apps and call for a global day of action to tell companies, passengers and legislators that something has to change," said Rideshare Drivers United, another association whose members will participate in the strike.
Drivers, who consider themselves self-employed, have reported that companies take
a disproportionate commission of their earnings.
[About 100,000 Uber and Lyft drivers will receive historic compensation for the scam they suffered]
"We are tired of working 80 hours a week just to barely make ends meet, constantly fearing for our safety, and worrying about being deactivated with the click of a button," the Justice For App Workers call alleged.
"We are always trying to improve the driver experience," Lyft told Reuters.
The company indicated a week ago that it would guarantee weekly earnings for those who kept less than 70% of what passengers paid, after external fees.
Uber told the news agency that "driver earnings remained strong and at the end of the third quarter of 2023, drivers in the United States were earning around $33 per hour used."
Nicole Moore, president of Rideshare Drivers United, said that her drivers have "seen an incredible decrease in our pay" and that the calculations and algorithms that companies are using to calculate income "are completely useless."
In late 2023, Uber and Lyft agreed to pay $328 million after being sued in New York state for pocketing some drivers' earnings.