Will Uber and Lyft workers leave the United States on foot?
While Uber and Lyft do booming business (also thanks to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé) their workers in the United States are going on strike to demand fair pay. And the protests could even spread… All the details
In the United States, drivers for ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft and DoorDash riders have folded their arms to demand fair pay and better treatment. Meanwhile, both companies achieved positive results between 2023 and the first months of 2024, also thanks to the tours of pop stars Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, which gave a boost to their earnings.
THE STRIKE OF UBER, LYFT AND DOORDASH WORKERS
Yesterday, in the United States, Uber and Lyft drivers, and DoorDash delivery workers stopped to shine a spotlight on their working conditions. They argue that the companies they depend on take disproportionate amounts of their fares as taxes, hurting their profits.
“Uber and Lyft are degrading workers and service by paying less and charging more, while recovering value for the company and its shareholders,” said Alissa Centivany, an assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario.
The protest, notes Reuters , comes just as Uber, the largest ride-sharing company, saw its shares hit a record high after announcing a $7 billion share buyback.
THE UBER AND LYFT SALARY “SCAM”
According to the news agency, in the second half of 2023, the median earnings for a Lyft driver using a personal vehicle were $30.68, including tips and bonuses, per hour of work; while at Uber, the figure was $33 per hour, in the December quarter.
But ride-sharing companies' problems with workers' wages are nothing new. In fact, last November Uber and Lyft agreed to pay 328 million dollars to resolve the multi-year investigation by the State of New York which implicated them for having "systematically defrauded drivers in terms of pay and benefits". Attorney General Letitia James said it was “the largest wage theft settlement in the history of her office.”
THE GOLDEN BUSINESS OF UBER AND LYFT
Speaking of how Uber and Lyft are faring, Quartz says the number of Uber rides grew 24% in 2023, reaching 9.4 billion rides globally, up from 7.6 billion the previous year . Lyft rides, however, increased 18% to 709 million in the United States and Canada compared to 599 million in 2022.
“These figures – we read in the article – also translated into an increase in revenues. Uber's full-year revenue grew 17% to $115 billion and Lyft's revenue grew 8% to $4.4 billion in 2023. Their stocks are also up today, thanks to strong results from both companies. Uber shares rose 12% and Lyft shares rose more than 31%, despite a typo in the earnings report.”
Special thanks from ride-sharing companies go to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé , who contributed to a more than 35% increase in rides in 2023 with their world tours compared to the previous year. The US Open and soccer games also played their part.
WILL THE PROTESTS EXTEND?
Although yesterday's strike was the industry's largest in American history, according to Justice for App Workers (JFAW), Uber said it had seen no impact on its business.
However, even drivers from Canada and riders from the United Kingdom – a significant portion of whom are immigrants who “endure back-breaking shifts exceeding 13 hours a day, without a day's rest,” as written by Delivery Job UK , a group based in the UK who organize strikes – they threatened to strike.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/i-lavoratori-di-uber-e-lyft-lasceranno-a-piedi-gli-stati-uniti/ on Thu, 15 Feb 2024 09:51:41 +0000.