Valentine’s Day strike: Uber, Lyft, DoorDash drivers demand fair pay

Uber, Lyft and DoorDash drivers may be putting a wrench into Valentine’s Day plans.

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They are planning on a strike on Wednesday demanding fair pay, Reuters reported.

The drivers are independent contractors for their respective companies and claim that the businesses take high commissions from their deliveries and routes.

“We’re sick of working 80 hours a week just to make ends meet, being constantly scared for our safety and worrying about [being] deactivated with the click of a button,” the group Justice For App Workers said, according to CBS News.

In addition to not taking fares or deliveries, the group will demonstrate at airports in several cities across the country including Orlando, Pittsburgh and Providence.

The strike will also impact the U.K. with about 3,000 food delivery workers striking, CNN reported.

Lyft recently said it would guarantee weekly pay for drivers, Reuters reported. CBS News said that the company pledged to give drivers at least 70% of the fares collected.

Uber expects only a small portion of its drivers to take part in the work stoppage, and when they have in the past, it didn’t impact business. The company said its drivers earned $33 per hour that they were on the clock last quarter.

While UberEats said its workers are happy with the situation and that they can earn money “when and where they choose,” CNN reported.

“We know that the vast majority of couriers are satisfied with their experience on the app, and we regularly engage with couriers to look at how we can improve their experience,” a company spokesman said.

DoorDash did not respond to requests for comment from either CNN or Reuters as of Tuesday morning.

But some drivers don’t agree with the companies’ assessments.

“A year into algorithmic pricing, drivers have seen incredible decrease of our pay... whatever calculations and algorithms they’re using, it’s absolutely useless,” Nicole Moore, president of Rideshare Drivers United, told Reuters.

Reuters found that Uber drivers’ earnings lost 17.1% while Lyft drivers had an increase of 2.5%.

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