New York City Uber drivers strike after denied pay raise

Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech
·2 min read

Story at a glance

  • Uber drivers in New York City are taking part in a 24-hour strike Monday to protest a blocked pay increase.

  • The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission passed its first pay increase for rideshare drives for the first time since 2012 last month.

  • Uber swiftly filed a lawsuit against the pay raise arguing the hike would cost the company millions and would hurt the industry.

New York City Uber drivers began a 24-hour strike on Monday after the ridesharing company filed a lawsuit delaying a pay raise.

Hundreds of Uber drivers will continue to strike until midnight, according to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, the union that represents roughly 21,000 Lyft, Uber and other for-hire vehicle drivers across the five boroughs.

The union is also asking New Yorkers to boycott the company until midnight as well.

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“We put our lives on the line and kept Uber afloat during the pandemic. We suffered a year of record high inflation,” the New York Taxi Worker Alliance said in a tweet. “They don’t see our humanity. Don’t let them see our profits.”

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) voted last month to increase the pay of ride-hail drivers by about 7 percent more per minute and 24 percent per mile.

Uber sued the city in a Manhattan Supreme Court earlier this month arguing that the “dramatic, unprecedented and unsupported” pay hikes were implemented to fight inflation but were calculated using an index the Commission has never used before and “will never use again.”

The rideshare company claimed that the pay increases could force Uber to spend an extra $21 million to $23 million per month and potentially increase the cost of rides by 10 percent in the city, a move that right before the holidays could irrevocably damage its reputation.

“Earlier increases have ranged from 1.46% to 5.34% against preexisting rates, and accurately reflected the impact of inflation,” the lawsuit states.

Uber added in the lawsuit that the TLC-approved pay hike would harm riders, drivers and the entire ride-share industry since a cost increase to balance a driver pay increase could mean fewer people choosing to ride with the app.

“Fewer requested rides translates to fewer opportunities for Drivers to earn fees,” the lawsuit states.

“The Challenged Rule could very well have the effect of harming Driver earnings, undermining the purpose of these regulations.”

TLC Commissioner David Do said in a statement to Changing America that the agency will fight the lawsuit in court and the city’s Uber drivers “have every right” to fight the company’s efforts denying them their inflation and cost of living pay adjustment.

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