Uber drivers hit the breaks Monday in protest over their company's efforts to block a pay hike passed by New York City's Taxi & Limousine Commission.
Dozens of drivers formed a caravan across the Brooklyn Bridge during morning rush-hour, sacrificing peak work hours to take a stand days after a New York judge granted Uber a temporary restraining order blocking the raise that was supposed to take effect Monday.
"This isn’t drivers begging, this is demanding their fair share it’s that’s simple," said Aziz Bah, organizing director for the Independent Driver's Guild. "We fought very hard for years to finally get a raise and Uber decided to be a Grinch."
The drivers aren't stopping with the morning caravan. Some drivers plan to be on strike for 24 hours, while a second rally Monday afternoon outside Uber headquarters in the city is expected to draw a large crowd.
If public pressure isn't enough to win drivers the raise they want, the battle will continue in the courtroom where Bah hopes a judge will side with the drivers at a hearing at the end of January.
"We want the judge to actually throw out this lawsuit," Bah said. "This is a slap in the face on every single driver, not only in New York City but the world, because if this can happen here it can happen somewhere else."
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Some 80,000 Uber drivers were going to get a pay bump days before Christmas; they would earn 7.4% more per minute and a 24% increase per mile.
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In the rideshare company's lawsuit, Uber argued that the authorized pay hike would cost the company nearly $21 million per month. A spokesperson said the company wants rates to be consistent and transparent.
“Drivers do critical work and deserve to be paid fairly, but rates should be calculated in a way that is transparent, consistent and predictable. Existing TLC rules continue to provide for an annual review tied to the rate of inflation; that’s one reason why driver pay has gone up 38.4% since 2019," said Josh Gold, Uber spokesperson.
Riders considering an alternative should be warned: yellow cab base fares have increased by about 50 cents. It's the first fare hike in nearly a decade.