[dropcap size=big]G[/dropcap]ig workers for Lyft, Uber, and Juno in cities across the country are on strike again today to protest for better wages, benefits, and organizing rights on the eve of Uber’s initial public offering.
For 24 hours today, Wednesday May 8, your rideshare app drivers are asking passengers to refrain from using apps to support their effort for better rights in a "contractor" job that has become for many a crucial part of their income. Drivers are also turning off their apps at peak rush-hour times including this morning from 7 to 9 am.
The strike is lead by the L.A.-based Rideshare Drivers United, an association of about 4,000 rideshare drivers that formed last year in response to pay cuts at both Uber and Lyft. The organization is calling on the public to not use any ridesharing apps for 24 hours starting at midnight. At LAX, the group will picket around the airport’s departure terminals and give speeches at noon.
Across the country about 31 million people work in the so-called “gig economy,” a nebulous region of freelance and independent contract employment mostly involving Silicon Valley-based apps like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Grubhub, TaskRabbit, Postmates, Airbnb, and hundreds of others.
At the heart of the issue is the relationship these gig economy companies have to the backbone of their workforce – the people actually doing the day-to-day tasks that the company makes money on.