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Uber & Lyft Drivers Demand Raises Blocked by Uber
NYTWA Statement on TLC Pay Rules: Drivers need raises and Uber needs to stop threatening logoffs
New York, NY: On Wednesday, March 1, 2023, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission held a hearing on revised driver pay rules after Uber blocked raises for app drivers. Uber and Lyft drivers, members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, have made their voices heard and held three successful strikes since Uber sued to stop raises that were meant to go into effect just before Christmas. Now, Uber is instilling fear in drivers with threats of logoffs -- even sending out messages in the app to drivers that the TLC will "make Uber" log drivers off the app.
Today, NYTWA Executive Director Bhairavi Desai (she/her) released the following statement:
"NYTWA applauds the TLC for working toward pay rules that keep driver pay steady in the midst of skyrocketing inflation and increased vehicle operating expenses. For too long, Uber and Lyft drivers have been forced to choose between buying gas so they can work or buying food for their families. Uber callously blocked driver raises when they needed them the most.
"We're calling on the TLC to hold Uber accountable for threats of logoffs. Uber’s continued threats to log off drivers and artificially increase its utilization rate represent nothing more than their hostility to the idea of fair and full pay for all time at work. TLC should close loopholes in the utilization rate rule that have had the unintended consequence of rewarding companies for involuntarily logging off drivers.
"The goal of the TLC's pay rules should be to maintain driver take-home income (after operating expenses) of at least $25 per hour. To do that, we need an annual review of driver expenses, increases in out-of-town rates and an increase in the per-mile rate for luxury vehicles with higher operating costs. And Uber and Lyft should not be allowed to reduce driver income by involuntarily logging drivers off of the apps.
"In the meantime, Uber and Lyft drivers will continue to mobilize and continue to hold strikes to show the companies that they can't profit from driver labor if they don't respect the drivers."
More about our strikes:
Check out videos and photos of NYTWA Uber & Lyft drivers' most recent strike: Watch the FB Live video of the rally here. More videos and photos can be found on our Twitter and Facebook feeds, including this video of immigrant drivers organizing in multiple languages.
**** All members of the media have permission to use videos and photos from our social media feeds. *****
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About the New York Taxi Workers Alliance
Founded in 1998, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) is the over 25,000-member strong union of NYC taxicab drivers, representing yellow cab drivers, green car, and black car drivers, including drivers for Uber and Lyft. We fight for justice, rights, respect and dignity for the over 150,000 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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