NYC Uber drivers on strike again for wage hike

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• After a pay raise was blocked last year, NYC Uber drivers are again on strike.
• A pay raise was approved by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission last November
• The company blocked the raise with a lawsuit saying the raise was “dramatic” and would entail spending millions.

New York City Uber drivers held a 24-hour strike for the 2nd time after the company blocked its pay raise last month with a lawsuit.  The strike started at 12:01 am Thursday morning and lasted until 11:59 p.m.

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (NYC TLC) already voted to raise the pay of all ride-hail drivers in November.  The increase would have given the drivers a raise of almost 7 percent more per minute and 24 percent per mile.  

The approval by the NYC TLC aimed to address the inflation challenges of higher gas, housing and food.   

Uber countered the raise with a lawsuit at a Manhattan Supreme Court saying that the hike was “dramatic, unprecedented and unsupported.” 

The company added that it would entail raising the cost of rides by 10 percent to make up for the additional $23 million a month that the company would spend on the hike.

In a statement, Commissioner David Do of the NYC TLC said, “The city’s for hire drivers have every right to protest Uber’s attempt to deny them the inflation and cost of living pay adjustment that they are rightfully due.” He added, “TLC is actively protesting this too, in court.”  

According to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA), the strike comes before Friday’s scheduled ruling of a New York judge on whether to continue the pay raise block or lift it. NYTWA is a union that represents around 21,000 Lyft, Uber, and Taxi drivers across the five boroughs of NY.

Meanwhile, an Uber spokesperson said that despite the call for the strike, Uber drivers are still using the app.

“Every time the taxi association calls for a strike, drivers demonstrate they’re more interested in delivering for New Yorkers than social media discourse,” according to the spokesperson. “Today has been no different.” 

An online petition was also created to support drivers’ call for pay raise. So far, it already has 1,600 signatures.  

Source: The Hill