Uber drivers off duty today as they strike for minimum wage pay
Uber drivers are planning to take to the streets today as part of a broader protest calling for a $15 hourly minimum wage. "Hundreds" of drivers will protest alongside fast food workers, airport employees and home care aides for what is being billed as a "Day of Disruption," according to Fight for 15, the group organizing the effort, according to an article in CNN.
In San Francisco, Uber's hometown, drivers are planning to march at the airport with signs that say, "Your Uber Driver is Arriving Striking." In other cities, drivers will idle their cars or march with low wage workers from other sectors.
Protests are supposed to be taking places in cities such as Denver, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco. As part of the Fight for $15 event, Uber drivers will march in solidarity with others and aim to disrupt service, thereby highlighting to riders the important roles these service people play in daily life.
“Workers in the Fight for $15 have created a powerful movement that boldly proclaims everyone who puts in a hard day’s work should receive a fair day’s pay,” said Adam Shahim, a Pittsburg, California Uber driver, in a canned statement.
Drivers plan to demonstrate their contempt for the current $7.25 minimum wage by having their cars sit idle in high-profile places. They’ll be non-responsive at San Francisco International Airport, walking alongside airport and fast-food workers with signs saying “Your Uber Driver is Striking.”
The event comes days after a busy four-day Thanksgiving weekend when millions of Americans traveled across the country, so major disruptions probably aren’t expected.
"Everyone says the gig economy is the future of work, but if we want to make that future a bright one, we need to join together like fast-food workers have in the Fight for $15 and demand an economy that works for all," Justin Berisie, an Uber driver based in Denver, said in a statement.
Drivers in some cities have also complained that Uber's aggressive fare cuts make it harder to scrape by with those additional costs factored in, the article notes.