NEWARK, N.J. (PIX11) — Ride-hailing workers are not feeling the love this year from Uber and Lyft and have decided to take Valentine’s Day off to strike for better pay and other changes to their work conditions.
Uber and Lyft drivers joined a nationwide strike hoping to bring attention to what they claim is a decrease in earnings amid rising costs in their daily expenses.
“I have cases where I talk to the passenger and they pay $80 and I get $30,” said ride-hailing driver Viclin Santiago. “It’s unfair, so we need more money.”
Santiago has been driving for both Uber and Lyft for eight years. He told PIX11 News he’s driven hours on end to put his son through college and to make a living, but his earnings are so low he struggles to make ends meet.
“I have a mortgage, I have a son in college and we struggling right now,” Santiago said. “I work 80 hours and then I see about $500-$600 a week and it’s crazy.”
Those sentiments are echoed by the hundreds of drivers who sat in the ride-hailing waiting lot at Newark Liberty International Airport Wednesday purposely refusing to accept rides.
“When it is on and it’s on a break, coffee break, they know that I’m at the airport and I’m not taking passengers,” said ride-hailing driver Bashar Mahrous.
Mahrous is an Uber driver and had his app in break mode for the day hoping to send a message to corporate giants. He said that after paying for costs associated with the job, there’s not much left to take home.
“Maintenance, gas, put them aside, insurance — put all these costs aside and if anybody works four hours at least they should make $100 net,” Mahrous said.
Drivers also say violence against them while on the job is increasing and they have no job protection from unfair app deactivations.
A spokesperson for Lyft responded to the demonstration with a statement:
"We are 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,” the spokesperson said. “This includes a new earnings commitment and an improved deactivation appeals process. Now, drivers will always make at least 70% of the weekly rider fares after external fees. It's all part of our new customer-obsessed focus on drivers.”
The spokesperson also added that the strike did not have a significant impact on wait times and service levels for riders.
According to organizers, the strike was the first major action of ride-hailing drivers in New Jersey. The strike also got underway in nine other cities including Hartford and Philadelphia.
Uber did not immediately respond to PIX11’s request for comment regarding the strike.
Article From:
pix11.com
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