Protesting 'Poverty Wages' and Exploitation, Uber and Lyft Drivers Go on Strike Across the Globe

Just days before Uber is set to make its “blockbuster” debut on the public market, ride-hailing drivers with both Uber and Lyft are going on strike across the globe on Wednesday to protest “poverty wages” and virtually non-existent worker protections.

“This is an act of solidarity with drivers across the country, and really across the world, who are suffering with poverty wages.”
—Bhairavi Desai, New York Taxi Workers Alliance

“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.”

“I’m striking for my kid’s future,” Lama said. “I have a five-year-old son, and I drive for Uber to support him. But it’s becoming harder and harder.”

According to the NYTWA, 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.

Todd Wolfson, a Rutgers University professor who studies the gig economy, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Wednesday’s action is the largest-ever global work stoppage by ride-hailing drivers.