Uber and Lyft Drivers On Major Strike

Photo credit: Spencer Platt l Getty Images

Uber and Lyft drivers are on strike! Starting at 12:01 a.m. this morning, Los Angeles Rideshare Drivers United encouraged drivers from both companies to turn off their apps.

Other major cities including New York, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco have joined, and are all extremely busy cities. The strike has even reached Canada and the U.K.! Who knows if Uber or Lyft will feel this stoppage, but we know taxicab companies will. The strike is only directing more business to them.

The alliance released a statement by one Uber driver, Sonam Lama, who said, “We want Uber to answer to us, not to investors.” He continued saying, “The gig economy is all about exploiting workers by taking away our rights. It has to stop.” 

What keeps some drivers motivated to continue is the billions of dollars’ worth of stock offerings. Just last month Lyft sold its shares to the public and lost $1.1 billion their first quarter. Perhaps drivers will start seeing a little more mula in their account, or maybe it just won’t be enough to survive out here in L.A..