Massive drivers strike: Valentine's Day without Uber, Lyft and DoorDash

Thousands of ride-hailing drivers and service providers Uber, Lyft and DoorDash plan to protest on February 14. They are demanding fair pay and better safety measures

The strike was announced last week by the Justice for App Workers coalition, which represents more than 100,000 ride-sharing and delivery drivers across the United States.

According to Reuters, "the coalition said the striking drivers will not provide rides to and from airports in 10 U.S. cities from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday".

The strike will cover Austin, Chicago, Hartford, Miami, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island and Tampa. The coalition is asking drivers to join the event and "demand change from Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and all app companies that profit from [their] hard work." Meanwhile, Rideshare Drivers United the Los Angeles-based independent union of Uber and Lyft drivers also revealed that its members will deactivate their apps on February 14 to protest the "significant pay cuts they've all suffered this winter."

- We expect thousands of rideshare drivers to participate in this in cities across the country - Rachel Gumpert, a spokesperson for the coalition Justice for App Workers, told USA TODAY.

"While Silicon Valley and Wall Street take an ever-increasing cut of driver earnings, they’re raising rates on passengers, and expecting consumers and workers alike to accept their increasing corporate greed," according to a news release from Justice for App Workers.

In response, Uber told USA TODAY in a statement that strikes "have rarely had any impact on trips, prices or driver availability."

"Constantly working to improve the driver experience, which is why just this month we released a series of new offers and commitments aimed at increasing driver pay and transparency" - said Lyft in a statement.

Source: USA Today, Reuters