Independent Drivers Guild Demands New York Leaders Act on Fair Pay and Treatment for Drivers  — As Drivers Report Uber & Lyft Scammed Them Out of Millions

New York, NY —  On Wednesday, hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers with the Independent Drivers Guild braved nasty, rainy weather to hold a massive protest caravan of for-hire vehicles across New York City to demand city officials enact fair pay and treatment for rideshare drivers.

Uber and Lyft drivers with the Independent Drivers Guild spent more than two years organizing to win the nation’s first minimum wage protection for New York City rideshare drivers. But despite record profits and ridership, Uber and Lyft are cheating on New York City’s minimum wage rules. The apps have used driver “lockouts” to scam drivers out of fair pay, leaving thousands on the brink of homelessness. Uber is also lobbying the city to cut driver pay next year to avoid paying drivers a minimum wage after expenses.

The slow procession of Uber and Lyft vehicles began in Brooklyn, traversed the Brooklyn Bridge, drove north on FDR Drive and 1st Ave, and crossed the Queensboro Bridge before reaching their destination: the Queens office of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission where drivers rallied for fair pay.

The Independent Drivers Guild, which represents and advocates for the city’s 80,000 Uber and Lyft drivers, is demanding that the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission take action to compensate drivers for millions of dollars in lost wages, increase pay to reflect rising expenses, and permanently end the exploitative driver lockouts by limiting new FHV driver licenses. More than 5,000 drivers have signed the Guild’s petition and reported millions of dollars in lost wages. Read all nine demands in the Guild’s petition here.

“New York City cannot allow big corporations like Uber and Lyft to abuse and exploit a workforce of 80,000 New Yorkers who serve our city as professional rideshare drivers,” said Brendan Sexton, President of the Independent Drivers Guild. “Uber and Lyft cheated New York City drivers out of millions of dollars this year, leaving thousands of rideshare drivers on the brink of homelessness. And now, despite record profits, Uber is lobbying the city to cut driver pay even further – and threatening to effectively lay off drivers if they don’t get their way.  It’s time for New York’s leaders to stand up for drivers and end this madness. Compensate drivers for lost wages, increase minimum pay to reflect rising expenses, and permanently end the exploitative driver lockouts by limiting new FHV driver licenses.”

“Uber and Lyft are screwing over New York City drivers. They are cheating us out of fair pay and trying to get away with paying less than the minimum wage. It’s digital slavery. New York’s leaders can’t allow these billion dollar corporations to get away with this,” said Queens-based IDG member Khalid Khattak, a longtime New York City Uber and Lyft driver. “I lost thousands of dollars due to the rideshare driver lockouts. When I can get on the app to work, the companies are taking more and more from each trip.  How are we supposed to survive?”

What is a “lockout”?

A lockout is when a rideshare app locks a driver out of the driver app. Uber and Lyft both began locking thousands of New York City drivers out of their apps earlier this year. Typically, this is done between trips and when or where demand is low in order to avoid paying drivers a minimum wage for all of their time.

Across New York City, 99 percent of the city’s Uber and Lyft drivers found themselves “locked out” of their driver app this summer, suddenly and unexpectedly unable to work. Nine in ten drivers reported lost wages in an IDG survey of more than 3,000 drivers — and thousands were left on the brink of homelessness. As of December, more than 5,000 New York City rideshare drivers have reported to IDG that they experienced lost wages due to the lockouts. Drivers reported more than $46 million in lost earnings. The average lost wages reported were over $9,000. 

Learn more about IDG’s campaign against the “lockouts” and the toll on drivers here.

About the Independent Drivers Guild

The Independent Drivers Guild is the nation’s largest rideshare driver advocacy group that represents and advocates for more than 300,000 drivers across the northeast, IL and FL. We are Uber and Lyft drivers united for a more fair industry. The Guild’s organizing has secured landmark victories that put billions of dollars in the pockets of drivers, including requiring a tipping option in the Uber app and winning the nation’s first livable minimum wage for rideshare drivers in New York City.  The Drivers Guild is a non-profit worker center affiliated with the Machinists Union, an AFL-CIO member union, which has represented for-hire vehicle (FHV) drivers for more than twenty-five years.
 

The Drivers Guild and Machinists Union have led the nation in advocating for benefits and protections for FHV drivers. In 1999, the Machinists Union advocated to create the Black Car Fund, establishing a workers’ compensation fund for New York’s for-hire vehicle drivers. In 2016, the Machinists helped drivers form the Independent Drivers Guild which successfully advocated for and won a series of new protections and benefits through the NY program, including free vision, dental, health clinics, telemedicine, disability insurance and the Guild’s mental health counseling program, developed specifically for FHV drivers in response to New York’s driver suicide crisis.