Photo Courtesy of IDG
The drivers caravanned over the Brooklyn Bridge and into Manhattan to circle the New York courthouses at 60 Centre St. and Foley Square, where they held a rally on the courthouse steps.
By Forum Staff
More than 500 New York Uber and Lyft drivers with the Independent Drivers Guild hit the streets Monday morning in protest of a New York State Supreme Court judge’s new decision to grant Uber’s request to temporarily halt essential pay raises that Uber has sued to roadblock. The drivers caravanned over the Brooklyn Bridge and into Manhattan to circle the New York courthouses at 60 Centre St. and Foley Square, where they held a rally on the courthouse steps demanding that Uber pay their raise. The caravan of cars displayed flags, signs, and posters as they drove over the Brooklyn Bridge and circled the New York Supreme Court and Foley Square.
Photo Courtesy of IDG
IDG drivers protest a State Supreme Court judge’s decision to grant Uber’s request to temporarily halt essential pay raises that Uber has sued to roadblock.
The Independent Drivers Guild, the nation’s largest rideshare advocacy organization and a Machinists Union affiliate, fought for years for this pay increase and is demanding that Uber pay up. The planned pay increase was supposed to go into effect Monday, Dec. 19. Despite record corporate profits, rideshare giant Uber sued the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission to block the driver pay increases, a necessary adjustment to ensure drivers are paid no less than the equivalent of New York City’s minimum wage after expenses.
“Uber is the grinch who stole Christmas for tens of thousands of New York City families and today drivers showed up in force to send a clear signal to Uber. We are not going to take this!” said Independent Drivers Guild Organizing Director Aziz Bah, a longtime Uber driver based in Corona. “Thousands of New York drivers fought for years to win these raises. We testified, we rallied, we produced reports on our expenses. While Uber is pocketing larger and larger commissions from every fare, drivers are being squeezed with the rising cost of living, gas, and car insurance.”
