FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 3, 2019
Contact: media@nytwa.org
May 8th, 2019: NYC Uber, Lyft & other App Drivers to STRIKE, Joining International Day of Driver Strikes
On eve of Uber's IPO, NYTWA members who drive for Uber, Lyft and other Apps announce 7 AM - 9 AM strike on Wednesday, May 8th.
Drivers will hold a rally at Uber & Lyft's NYC Headquarters at 1 PM at 31-00 47th Avenue
in Long Island City
(New York, NY) On Wednesday, May 8, 2019 from 7 AM to 9 AM, New York City app drivers will be going on strike. NYTWA's app driver members voted to log off on Wednesday morning to join
the international day of driver strikes ahead of Uber's IPO. Drivers from Los Angeles to Philadelphia are striking in United States, drivers in London are making it global, and now drivers in NYC, Uber's biggest market, are joining in solidarity.
NYC app driver demands include:
- Job security - end unfair deactivations that force drivers to live in fear of losing their livelihoods
- Livable incomes - winning the cap and the minimum pay rate was just the first step. We demand an end to the scam of upfront pricing.
- Regulate the fare Uber/Lyft/Juno/Via charge passengers, and cap the companies' commission, guaranteeing 80-85% of the fare to the driver
Sonam Lama, NYTWA member and Uber driver since 2015 said,
"
I'm striking for my kid's future. I have a 5-year-old son, and I drive for Uber to support him. But it's becoming harder and harder. First Uber cut the rates, then they put too many cars on the roads so there weren't enough fares to go around. In the IPO filing, Uber said drivers will only get more dissatisfied because they plan to cut our pay and stop incentives. We don't want our wages to stay just minimum. We want Uber to answer to us, not to investors. The gig economy is all about exploiting workers by taking away our rights. It has to stop. Uber is the worst actor in the gig economy. Uber claims that we are independent contractors even though they set our rates and control our workday. Uber executives are getting rich off of our work, they should treat us with respect. We are striking to send a message that drivers will keep rising up."
Varinder Kumar, NYTWA member, Lyft and Juno driver, and former Uber driver said, "Uber deactivated me 5 months ago without any reason. I went to the Uber office a few times and they refused to tell me why I was deactivated. I've been a professional driver in New York City since 1992 and I have never once gotten a traffic ticket or been in a car accident. My rating was always at a 4.89 or 4.9 out of the over 7,000 passengers I had in the 4 years I was driving full time for Uber to support my wife and two kids. I have one kid in high school and one in 5th grade. I drive for Lyft and Juno now but it's so stressful to have no job security. Any day you can wake up and find yourself without a job and not know why. It's not just me. It's happened to so many other people I know. Maybe it was retaliation because my picture was in the news. In 2016 I also went on strike with NYTWA when Uber cut our rates. We made signs then saying, we made Uber billions but they want to make us homeless. It's still true today. That's why app drivers are striking again on May 8th."
Henry Rolands, NYTWA member and Lyft driver, said,
"I voted to go on strike because drivers need job security. We don't know if we will have a job from one day to the next. And we make pennies while the app companies make billions off the backs of drivers who suffer and suffer. Uber takes advantage of minorities and poor people. They don't respect our rights and they deactivate drivers for any reason or for no reason at all. I was deactivated and Uber refused to tell me why. All of us, brothers and sisters, are in this together. That's why I am speaking out and that's why I am striking on May 8th."
NYTWA Executive Director Bhairavi Desai (she/her) said, "Wall Street investors are telling Uber and Lyft to cut down on driver income, stop incentives, and go faster to Driverless Cars. Uber and Lyft wrote in their S1 filings that they think they pay drivers too much already. With the IPO, Uber's corporate owners are set to make billions, all while drivers are left in poverty and go bankrupt. That's why NYTWA members are joining the international strike to stand up to Uber greed."
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Founded in 1998, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) is the 21,000-member strong union of NYC professional drivers, representing yellow cab drivers, green car, and black car drivers, including app drivers for Uber and Lyft. We fight for justice, rights, respect and dignity for the over 50,000 licensed men and women who often labor 12 hour shifts with little pay and few protections in the city's mobile sweatshop. Our members come from every community, garage, and neighborhood. To find out more visit
NYTWA.org, follow us on twitter.com/nytwa
or like us on
facebook.com/nytwa
.
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