LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – This Valentine’s Day, thousands of drivers for ridesharing and food delivery services in the U.S. and U.K. are expected to strike for better pay and working conditions.
In the U.S., the campaign group “Justice for App Workers” plans to stop giving rides to and from all airports in 10 cities for two hours on Wednesday.
While Las Vegas is not on that official list of cities striking Wednesday, some local rideshare drivers told FOX5 they will be participating, either for the two-hour period or the entire day.
One driver FOX5 spoke to anonymously Tuesday said he’ll be denying rides all day Wednesday and said other local drivers are planning to do the same: “Apps on, Valentine’s Day, we’re striking. Uber and Lyft drivers rideshare, we’re going to have our apps on, we’re going to deny every single ride. Every single ride is being denied.”
That driver said he and at least a thousand others are participating in an all-day strike across Las Vegas and Henderson Wednesday, planning to keep their apps on but deny every ride. “The young drivers and the drivers who want to work and go against the drivers who want to get real pay and get change, we’re going to make sure that they don’t get surge. We’re sending a message to Uber and Lyft.”
That message is a demand for fair wages from Uber and Lyft.
“Put it like this – I got my taxes from Uber. They almost made as much as me,” said Las Vegas rideshare driver Decameron Granger. “That ain’t right. I made this much, and y’all made almost as much as me, maybe 12,000, 13,000 less than what I made. That means they’re taking too much of the money.”
This comes as some Las Vegas rideshare drivers are dealing with disappointment after a not-so-profitable Super Bowl week, saying the Uber incentives – which included a $10 surcharge at the main drop-off zone – should have been more widespread to cover the entire Strip.
“Just taking someone from let’s say the Cosmo to Mandalay Bay, timewise was probably 20 minutes worse than Formula One, and the streets were blocked off during Formula One,” said Granger, “and that pay was probably almost the same. Actually, it was the same.”
FOX5 reached out to Uber and Lyft about the Super Bowl Week rates and the possible strike Wednesday, but we’re still waiting for a response.
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