Uber, Lyft drivers plan strike on Valentine's Day to demand higher pay: 'TIRED of being mistreated'

Thousands of Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash drivers are planning to strike on Valentine's Day to demand higher pay and greater security.

Justice for App Workers, a national coalition representing more than 130,000 rideshare and delivery drivers, announced last week that it is calling on its members to strike on Wednesday in a fight for "fair wages" and "safety."

"Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers are TIRED of being mistreated by the app companies. We're sick of working 80 hours/week just to make ends meet, being constantly scared for our safety, and worrying about being deactivated with the click of a button," the coalition wrote last week in its announcement about the strike.

The group is hosting rallies between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at ten airports across the nation, including in Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Texas.

"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. We're going on strike and telling the app companies that WE WON'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" the coalition stated.

Nicole Moore, president of the Rideshare Drivers United union, told Reuters, "A year into algorithmic pricing, drivers have seen incredible decrease of our pay. … Whatever calculations and algorithms they're using, it's absolutely useless."

In addition to securing higher wages and increased security, the group also aims to unionize the rideshare and delivery driver sector.

Last week, Lyft announced that it will guarantee weekly earnings for drivers in hopes of attracting more gig workers to the platform. The company stated that its "new offers and commitments" will increase pay and transparency for drivers.

Lyft CEO David Risher told Reuters, "We think hopefully it will get more drivers driving for Lyft, but also just make the whole sector stronger."

"We have more drivers now than we've had, I think, since the middle of 2019. It's strong and I tell you what, it's getting even stronger," he added.

Uber believes that only a small portion of its drivers will participate in the coalition's strike on Wednesday and does not expect that it will have a significant impact on business, Fox Business reported. Last week, during an earnings call, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that drivers in the United States earned approximately $33 per utilized hour in the fourth quarter.

Lyft said in February that U.S.-based drivers earn about $31 per hour, or $23 per hour, after subtracting expenses, including gas and maintenance, Business Insider reported.

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