Uber Drivers Going On Strike

Nolen Cooper, Reporter

Uber drivers are expected to go on strike today, May 8, just ahead of Uber’s Wall Street debut. Participating drivers say they want, livable income, job security and regulated fare.

“They deserve secure jobs, it must be hard to not know how much money you could or couldn’t make after a month,” junior Melissa Rogge said.

In San Diego drivers are expected to log off the app for 24 hours; New York drivers are expected to close the app for two hours from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, busy commuting hours. In addition to this drivers will hold rallies outside local Uber offices.

“It’s a great idea. Uber is gonna lose a lot of money during those times, it’s gonna make them reevaluate their business,” sophomore Marcus Temple said.

Many drivers have demands that vary by group but most of them include having an elected driver representative added to the boards of Uber and Lyft, a 10% commission cap on driver earnings, introducing an hourly minimum wage similar to New York City’s, and a transparent and speedy appeals process for when drivers are deactivated.

“With the IPO, Uber’s corporate owners are set to make billions, all while drivers are left in poverty and go bankrupt,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, one of the organizations calling for drivers to strike, in a statement to CNN.

Uber and Lyft have argued that they are independent contractors and do not have the same rights as employees, such as a minimum wage, overtime, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, paid sick leave or on-the-job expenses.