Thursday, May 09, 2019

Solidarity

We don't want our wages to stay just minimum. We want Uber to answer to us, not to investors," Sonam Lama, an Uber driver and member of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA), said in a statement ahead of Wednesday's strike. "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 and Lyft drivers plan to strike in major cities across the United States as well as in Brazil, Australia, Chile, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Nairobi, and other nations.

"This is an act of solidarity with drivers across the country, and really across the world, who are suffering with poverty wages," said NYTWA executive director Bhairavi Desai.

"Our expenses keep going up. Meanwhile, these companies are getting rich," Kevin Raghu, a Lyft driver and NYTWA member, said in a statement. "We are asking for our fair share and for job security."

Uber and Lyft drivers have been agitating for years to be recognized as direct employees rather than independent contractors. Los Angeles drivers have organized a 25-hour strike for May 25 to protest the 25% pay cut Uber recently announced. Workers in such cities as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Francisco are building on that action with a one-day strike on Wednesday, timed within days of Uber’s IPO.

Uber's top five executives made $143 million last year.  Uber is making its initial public offering (IPO) on Friday. Executives are hoping for a whopping $91 billion valuation. 

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/08/protesting-poverty-wages-and-exploitation-uber-and-lyft-drivers-go-strike-across


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