Uber drivers rally in front of the company’s headquarters. John Chandler reports.
New York City Uber drivers launched their second 24-hour strike in less than a month Thursday in ongoing protest over their company's efforts to block a pay hike passed by the Taxi & Limousine Commission.
New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA), the union representing the 21,000 or so app-dispatched drivers, along with those behind the wheels of green, black and livery cars in the city, asked passengers to assist in their bid to have raises restored by boycotting Uber until midnight. The group says app drivers, including those working for Uber, had lost about $12 million in raises by New Year's Day because of the judge's temporary restraining order.
The raises had been supposed to take effect on Dec. 19, the day the last 24-hour Uber strike was held. That one blocked traffic across the Brooklyn Bridge during rush hour as dozens of Uber drivers formed a caravan, sacrificing peak work hours to take a stand. Four days later, on Dec. 23, NYTWA filed an amicus brief in the state court case.
The union asked the judge to consider drivers' interest in restoring the raise. The court is reviewing the papers ahead of a Friday hearing on the matter, NYTWA said. It has planned the noon rally Thursday outside Uber's New York City headquarters on Greenwich Street in Manhattan. Advocates say inflation underscores the drastic need for cash, which is why NYTWA says TLC voted to approve it in the first place.
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The TLC voted on the raise to help drivers cover costs from record inflation. For drivers and the rest of America, bread and milk are the most expensive they've been in 40 years, NYTWA says -- and car expenses have gone up even more. In the New York City region, vehicle-related costs are 250% more than household costs, according to the union. Gasoline doubled last summer compared to 2018, the year the Uber and Lyft driver rates were first established by TLC.
At the same time, Uber said it charged UberX passengers 48% more in September 2022 compared with 2019, the union points out.
Some 80,000 Uber drivers had been slated to get the pre-Christmas pay bump; they would earn 7.4% more per minute and a 24% increase per mile.
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"I’m shocked and speechless thinking of how Uber stopped our raise after all the hearings and all the protests we did. This raise was like a small light of happiness for our families and for us, which Uber didn’t let happen," Uber driver and NYTWA member Nusrat Jahan said in a statement ahead of Thursday's planned strike. "I’m ashamed that Uber blocked this happiness before holidays. Now I’m working for Uber raising all this money for them so that they can hire a private jet or go to a private island or go to Dubai to celebrate their happiness with their families."
"We could have been earning $1000 extra a month to pay our bills, not for luxuries," Jahan added. "Let us all meet on the 5th of January to show Uber what we can do."
In the rideshare company's lawsuit, Uber argued that the authorized pay hike would cost the company nearly $21 million per month. A spokesperson has said the company wants rates to be consistent and transparent.
"Every time the taxi association calls for a strike, drivers demonstrate they're more interested in delivering for New Yorkers than social media discourse," Uber said in a statement on Thursday's action. "Today has been no different.”
