Need a ride to or from O'Hare International Airport on Wednesday? As thousands of rideshare drivers from Uber and Lyft plan to park their cars and shut down their apps as thousands participate in the strike for better pay, safety and more, you might want to plan ahead.
According to an announcement by the Justice for Workers Coalition, drivers for Uber, Lyft and DoorDash will hold strikes and demonstrations Wednesday outside airports in 10 cities: Chicago; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Miami; Orlando and Tampa, Florida; Hartford, Connecticut; Newark, New Jersey; Austin, Texas; and Providence, Rhode Island.
In Illinois alone, more than 30,000 drivers are members of the coalition.
“We are sick of working 80 hours a week, constantly fearing for our safety and worrying about being disabled at the click of a button,” the coalition said in a statement.
Ride-hailing drivers will rally at the O'Hare International Airport ride-share waiting area from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, the coalition said. They will disable their apps and will not accept any rides to and from the airport on Wednesday.
Uber said on Tuesday it did not expect the strike on Valentine's Day to have much of an impact on its operations.
“These types of events rarely have an impact on trips, prices or driver availability,” Uber said in a statement. “That's because most drivers are satisfied.” Uber said late last year that drivers were making $33 an hour. The company also said it allows drivers to deny deactivation.
“We are constantly working to improve the driver experience,” Lyft said in a statement. Lyft said its U.S. drivers make an average of $30.68 an hour, or $23.46 an hour after expenses.
Earlier this month, Lyft said it began guaranteeing drivers would pay at least 70% of the fare each week. Lyft also released a new in-app button that allows drivers to appeal termination decisions.
Rideshare drivers are also demanding more safety protections as part of the strike.
Last month, the Chicago Police Department issued a warning to delivery drivers.
Groups advocating for gig workers in the city have called for more security measures after recent attacks — some of them fatal — against delivery and ride-hailing drivers.
In January, a ride-hailing driver was fatally injured in an attempted carjacking in the 900 block of North LeClair Avenue in Austin, police said.
In December, Lyft driver Adriana Arocha-Duque was shot and killed in the 4800 block of West Thomas Street in the same area.
Another driver was killed in a shooting a few weeks ago. Mohammed Al Hejoj was driving his black 2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV with four passengers in the 1700 block of North Lotus Avenue on Dec. 3 around 5:40 p.m. when someone opened fire.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
