Uber drivers in Philadelphia are striking with six other cities next month over low wages and poor working conditions.
On May 8 at noon, the same day Uber makes its stock market debut, drivers in seven domestic cities — Philly, Los Angeles, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Minneapolis — will turn off the ride-sharing app for 12 hours and stop working.
The protesting drivers have four demands, according to the BBC.
- Higher wages
- Clearer policies on wages, tips, how fares are shared and disciplinary action
- Employee benefits like health care, disability payments and holiday pay
- Recognition and representation for drivers in Uber's management structure
Based on publicly available information, officials predict Uber drivers make $8.55 per hour in the U.S., on average. Despite being higher than the federally-mandated minimum wage, many of the minimum wages in the protesting states are much higher. For example in California the minimum wage is $11 an hour.
“Uber’s much-anticipated IPO will put millions into the pockets of executives, but the drivers who are the core of the service of the company will get nothing,” Shona Clarkson, an organizer with one of the participating drivers' organizations, Gig Workers Rising, told The Guardian. “Uber is paying drivers poverty wages and continues to slash wages while executives make millions.”
As of Sunday, Uber has yet to comment on the strike or the drivers' demands.
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