Thousands of US, UK Delivery, Ride-Hailing Drivers Stop Work on Valentine's Day
February 14, 2024
By Associated Press
February 14, 2024
By Associated Press
A passer-by walks past a sign offering directions to an Uber and Lyft ride pickup location at Logan International Airport, in Boston
Thousands of ride-hailing and delivery workers in the U.S. and the U.K. went on strike on Valentine's Day, calling for higher pay and other changes to their working conditions.
In the U.S., Uber and Lyft drivers planned daylong strikes in Chicago; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Miami; Orlando and Tampa, Florida; Hartford, Connecticut; Newark, New Jersey; Austin, Texas; and Providence, Rhode Island. Drivers were also holding midday demonstrations at airports in those cities, according to Justice for App Workers, the group organizing the effort.
Meanwhile, U.K. delivery drivers for Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Stuart said they would turn off their apps and refuse deliveries between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. The group Delivery Job U.K., which called for the walkout, said on Instagram that the strike was "a crucial opportunity to be seen and heard by society."
Of eight delivery drivers who spoke with The Associated Press on the streets of London Wednesday, all but one said they planned to halt work at 5 p.m. Several, however, questioned whether the strike was long enough to make enough of a financial dent in the businesses.
"One day is not effective," said Evadur Rahman. "If we strike more than one day — two, three, four days — they're gonna be affected."
Rahman, a Deliveroo driver who planned to participate in the strike, said his daily pay dropped in recent months from about 140 pounds ($175) for eight hours of work to around 100 pounds ($126). He said he wanted the company to raise the minimum rate it pays per order from 2.90 pounds ($3.64) to closer to 5 pounds ($6.28).
"They must improve the minimum pay," Rahman said. "It's not enough for survival in this country."
Delivery Job U.K. said 3,000 people planned to strike, but it was unclear how many U.S. drivers would be participating. Uber said Tuesday that based on past walkouts, it didn't expect the strike to have much impact on its operations.
"These types of events have rarely had any impact on trips, prices or driver availability," Uber said in a statement. "That's because the vast majority of drivers are satisfied."
Uber and other companies that rely on self-employed gig workers say those workers appreciate the flexibility of the job. But many gig workers are pushing to unionize, saying that would give them the ability to bargain over compensation, safety measures and other benefits.
In November, that unionization effort saw a setback in the U.K., when Britain's top court ruled that Deliveroo couriers don't have collective bargaining rights because they aren't considered employees.
Deliveroo said Wednesday that it has a voluntary partnership with a union that includes annual discussions on pay and it also provides couriers with free insurance and sick pay.
"Rider retention rates are high and the overwhelming majority of riders tell us that they are satisfied working with us," the company said in a statement.
Rachel Gumpert described ride-hailing as a "mobile sweatshop," with some workers routinely putting in 60 to 80 hours per week. Justice for App Workers, which says it represents 130,000 ride-hailing and delivery workers, is seeking higher wages, access to health care and an appeals process so companies can't deactivate drivers without warning.
But ride-hailing companies say they already pay a fair wage and have an appeals process in place for deactivations.
Earlier this month, Lyft said it began guaranteeing that drivers will make at least 70% of their fares each week, and it lays out its fees more clearly for drivers in a new earnings statement. Lyft also unveiled a new in-app button that lets drivers appeal deactivation decisions.
"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 per hour, or $23.46 per hour after expenses.
Uber said its U.S. drivers make an average of $33 per hour. The company also said it allows drivers to dispute deactivations.
Thousands of ride-hailing and delivery workers in the U.S. and the U.K. went on strike on Valentine's Day, calling for higher pay and other changes to their working conditions.
In the U.S., Uber and Lyft drivers planned daylong strikes in Chicago; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Miami; Orlando and Tampa, Florida; Hartford, Connecticut; Newark, New Jersey; Austin, Texas; and Providence, Rhode Island. Drivers were also holding midday demonstrations at airports in those cities, according to Justice for App Workers, the group organizing the effort.
Meanwhile, U.K. delivery drivers for Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Stuart said they would turn off their apps and refuse deliveries between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. The group Delivery Job U.K., which called for the walkout, said on Instagram that the strike was "a crucial opportunity to be seen and heard by society."
Of eight delivery drivers who spoke with The Associated Press on the streets of London Wednesday, all but one said they planned to halt work at 5 p.m. Several, however, questioned whether the strike was long enough to make enough of a financial dent in the businesses.
"One day is not effective," said Evadur Rahman. "If we strike more than one day — two, three, four days — they're gonna be affected."
Rahman, a Deliveroo driver who planned to participate in the strike, said his daily pay dropped in recent months from about 140 pounds ($175) for eight hours of work to around 100 pounds ($126). He said he wanted the company to raise the minimum rate it pays per order from 2.90 pounds ($3.64) to closer to 5 pounds ($6.28).
"They must improve the minimum pay," Rahman said. "It's not enough for survival in this country."
Delivery Job U.K. said 3,000 people planned to strike, but it was unclear how many U.S. drivers would be participating. Uber said Tuesday that based on past walkouts, it didn't expect the strike to have much impact on its operations.
"These types of events have rarely had any impact on trips, prices or driver availability," Uber said in a statement. "That's because the vast majority of drivers are satisfied."
Uber and other companies that rely on self-employed gig workers say those workers appreciate the flexibility of the job. But many gig workers are pushing to unionize, saying that would give them the ability to bargain over compensation, safety measures and other benefits.
In November, that unionization effort saw a setback in the U.K., when Britain's top court ruled that Deliveroo couriers don't have collective bargaining rights because they aren't considered employees.
Deliveroo said Wednesday that it has a voluntary partnership with a union that includes annual discussions on pay and it also provides couriers with free insurance and sick pay.
"Rider retention rates are high and the overwhelming majority of riders tell us that they are satisfied working with us," the company said in a statement.
Rachel Gumpert described ride-hailing as a "mobile sweatshop," with some workers routinely putting in 60 to 80 hours per week. Justice for App Workers, which says it represents 130,000 ride-hailing and delivery workers, is seeking higher wages, access to health care and an appeals process so companies can't deactivate drivers without warning.
But ride-hailing companies say they already pay a fair wage and have an appeals process in place for deactivations.
Earlier this month, Lyft said it began guaranteeing that drivers will make at least 70% of their fares each week, and it lays out its fees more clearly for drivers in a new earnings statement. Lyft also unveiled a new in-app button that lets drivers appeal deactivation decisions.
"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 per hour, or $23.46 per hour after expenses.
Uber said its U.S. drivers make an average of $33 per hour. The company also said it allows drivers to dispute deactivations.
Food delivery drivers work long hours in gruelling conditions for very little pay from firms such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats. We are walking out because we are desperate
Anonymous
Wed 14 Feb 2024
Today, on Valentine’s Day, delivery riders working for platforms such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats will be on strike, demanding higher wages. It will probably be the largest platform worker strike ever seen in the UK. I’m one of the organisers.
I live in south London. I spend most of the day on the road. I ride 80 miles a day on my moped over the course of nine to 10 hours, and usually make less than the minimum wage after costs. Because I’m self-employed, I have no guaranteed basic pay. Instead, I get variable fees for each delivery based on distance and other factors.
Adjusted for inflation, our earnings have been going down for years. A recent report looked at pay in the sector and found the vast majority of platforms couldn’t provide evidence that workers’ gross pay was at least the minimum wage after costs. I try to do three orders an hour and average about £10 before costs. Sometimes I make less, more like £7. Other riders who are less experienced or don’t have accounts with all the apps that I do make even less.
My costs are quite low. I own my moped outright, and I don’t have to pay someone else to lend me their login (a practice known as renting an account). Even so, I have to spend about £3 on petrol, insurance, maintenance and other costs for every hour I work. So if my account says I’m making £10 an hour, I’m actually making £7. I have to make nearly £14 just to earn the equivalent of the minimum wage. It’s rare that I make that much nowadays.
I work six days a week. On a normal day, I get up at 6.30am and have a coffee and a cigarette before hitting the road. I work all the peak hours: from 7am to 10am, noon to 3pm, and 5pm to 9pm. I get so exhausted that I have to go home for a nap between lunch and dinner. The apps talk about flexibility, but there’s no flexibility at all: you have to work the peak hours, or you don’t make anywhere near enough money.
Falling wages are making all our lives harder. In my local mechanics’ garage, they have a list on the wall of all the riders who owe them money. It used to just be one or two, but now all the regulars are on it. We are all scared of getting a big repair bill. My food bill keeps going up and up. I’m getting less healthy because I’m totally reliant on processed frozen food.
Work makes me anxious. There are lots of things that add to the stress. The only way to make more money is to ride faster, which means taking more risks. You can get an extra few pounds an hour if you’re willing to risk your life. I’ve been in situations where I’ve skidded and only just avoided crashing.
In other jobs I’ve had, if you worked hard you would be all right. But when you’re a rider, you have to be lucky, too: lucky to avoid being hit by a car, lucky to avoid being robbed, lucky to avoid being made to wait for orders. So far, I have been lucky. But the thing with luck is that it doesn’t last for ever.
I came to the UK thinking that this was one of the richest countries in the world. But things are always getting worse – I work more and more hours for less money. I have ended up asking myself if this was the right decision.
The lives of other riders are even harder than mine. Much of the workforce is undocumented. They rent accounts from other people, but they don’t have the right papers to get another job. That means they can’t find other work, no matter how bad the pay gets. Often they rent everything they need from one person: a mattress on the floor of an overcrowded house, a moped and a delivery account. They always have to stay alert to avoid immigration raids and police checks. They are living in poverty, but nobody seems to care.
Deliveroo has said that, “Thousands of people apply to work with Deliveroo each month, rider retention rates are high and the overwhelming majority of riders tell us that they are satisfied working with us.” Uber Eats has said: “We offer a flexible way for couriers to earn by using the app when and where they choose. We know that the vast majority of couriers are satisfied with their experience on the app.”
But we can’t go on like this. We’ve had enough. That’s why we started organising this strike. Thousands of us across more than 90 areas went on strike on 2 February, and we’re going to do it again today. Some might point out that Deliveroo riders have a union: the GMB signed a “partnership” deal with the platform in 2022, and calls itself “the union for riders”. But we are fighting for ourselves. Customers who want to support us should do a one-day boycott of the apps on Valentine’s Day, and join us when we protest in the streets.
The author is a food courier in south London and an organiser with Delivery Job UK. As told to Callum Cant
Wed 14 Feb 2024
Today, on Valentine’s Day, delivery riders working for platforms such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats will be on strike, demanding higher wages. It will probably be the largest platform worker strike ever seen in the UK. I’m one of the organisers.
I live in south London. I spend most of the day on the road. I ride 80 miles a day on my moped over the course of nine to 10 hours, and usually make less than the minimum wage after costs. Because I’m self-employed, I have no guaranteed basic pay. Instead, I get variable fees for each delivery based on distance and other factors.
Adjusted for inflation, our earnings have been going down for years. A recent report looked at pay in the sector and found the vast majority of platforms couldn’t provide evidence that workers’ gross pay was at least the minimum wage after costs. I try to do three orders an hour and average about £10 before costs. Sometimes I make less, more like £7. Other riders who are less experienced or don’t have accounts with all the apps that I do make even less.
My costs are quite low. I own my moped outright, and I don’t have to pay someone else to lend me their login (a practice known as renting an account). Even so, I have to spend about £3 on petrol, insurance, maintenance and other costs for every hour I work. So if my account says I’m making £10 an hour, I’m actually making £7. I have to make nearly £14 just to earn the equivalent of the minimum wage. It’s rare that I make that much nowadays.
I work six days a week. On a normal day, I get up at 6.30am and have a coffee and a cigarette before hitting the road. I work all the peak hours: from 7am to 10am, noon to 3pm, and 5pm to 9pm. I get so exhausted that I have to go home for a nap between lunch and dinner. The apps talk about flexibility, but there’s no flexibility at all: you have to work the peak hours, or you don’t make anywhere near enough money.
Falling wages are making all our lives harder. In my local mechanics’ garage, they have a list on the wall of all the riders who owe them money. It used to just be one or two, but now all the regulars are on it. We are all scared of getting a big repair bill. My food bill keeps going up and up. I’m getting less healthy because I’m totally reliant on processed frozen food.
Work makes me anxious. There are lots of things that add to the stress. The only way to make more money is to ride faster, which means taking more risks. You can get an extra few pounds an hour if you’re willing to risk your life. I’ve been in situations where I’ve skidded and only just avoided crashing.
In other jobs I’ve had, if you worked hard you would be all right. But when you’re a rider, you have to be lucky, too: lucky to avoid being hit by a car, lucky to avoid being robbed, lucky to avoid being made to wait for orders. So far, I have been lucky. But the thing with luck is that it doesn’t last for ever.
I came to the UK thinking that this was one of the richest countries in the world. But things are always getting worse – I work more and more hours for less money. I have ended up asking myself if this was the right decision.
The lives of other riders are even harder than mine. Much of the workforce is undocumented. They rent accounts from other people, but they don’t have the right papers to get another job. That means they can’t find other work, no matter how bad the pay gets. Often they rent everything they need from one person: a mattress on the floor of an overcrowded house, a moped and a delivery account. They always have to stay alert to avoid immigration raids and police checks. They are living in poverty, but nobody seems to care.
Deliveroo has said that, “Thousands of people apply to work with Deliveroo each month, rider retention rates are high and the overwhelming majority of riders tell us that they are satisfied working with us.” Uber Eats has said: “We offer a flexible way for couriers to earn by using the app when and where they choose. We know that the vast majority of couriers are satisfied with their experience on the app.”
But we can’t go on like this. We’ve had enough. That’s why we started organising this strike. Thousands of us across more than 90 areas went on strike on 2 February, and we’re going to do it again today. Some might point out that Deliveroo riders have a union: the GMB signed a “partnership” deal with the platform in 2022, and calls itself “the union for riders”. But we are fighting for ourselves. Customers who want to support us should do a one-day boycott of the apps on Valentine’s Day, and join us when we protest in the streets.
The author is a food courier in south London and an organiser with Delivery Job UK. As told to Callum Cant
Food couriers strike 14 February
Submitted by cathy n on 13 February, 2024 -Author: Michael Elms
Submitted by cathy n on 13 February, 2024 -Author: Michael Elms
WORKERS LIBERTY
On 14 February food delivery couriers are set to strike over pay. The strike is not being organised by a union but by a social media-based group called Delivery Job UK, and it mostly involves couriers working for Deliveroo and Stuart. Some couriers working for other apps are also involved. A strike also took place on 2 February.
The 2 February action saw thousands of couriers, mostly in London, but also in cities across the UK, stopping deliveries. The delivery apps tried to break the strike by offering astronomical fees to those riders who did accept orders. Patchy picketing and protest motorcades around strike hotspots were able to reduce the impact of scabbing and shore up the strike.
The riders are right to strike. Pay for food couriers has been falling since the pandemic. Pay is opaque — an algorithm decides the rate for each job with little or no explanation given. Many couriers work brutally long weeks just to cover their costs and make something like minimum wage on top. 50-hour weeks are not uncommon, and many work even longer hours than that.
Delivery Job UK appears to be the creation of a group of mostly-Brazilian couriers working in the UK. They have built up a large following among other couriers on social media and over WhatsApp. The internal workings of the group are not clear. Evidently a group of riders have set themselves up as a leadership for a large section of the delivery workforce. Good for them! But the leadership of the strike needs to join up with the broader trade union movement by engaging with the IWGB union, which is the main trade union organising couriers in the UK currently. The IWGB, likewise, needs to activate itself in order to meet the demands of the hour.
There is a pattern in courier organising in the UK that friendship groups of well-known riders create a kind of executive committee in a given area, and organise a strike when pay is particularly bad. But these networks often lack experience in organising strikes, and they are generally disconnected from the wider socialist and workers’ movements. For these reasons, spontaneous couriers’ strikes tend to fall apart quickly. The opacity and lack of formal democracy in the leading friendship group often makes it hard to turn over new leaders when the initial organisers burn out or move on. What is happening now appears to be a bigger, more serious version of this long-standing pattern, with all of its problems as well as its strengths. A widespread belief among some couriers that trade unions are scams (often connected to migrant workers’ experiences of corrupt labour organisations in other countries, sometimes to do with experience of unions in Britain) does not help.
Socialists around the UK — not just staff or members of the IWGB — need to connect with this round of couriers’ strikes and offer our assistance and our organising experience to help couriers form a strong, durable organisation that can win.
On 14 February food delivery couriers are set to strike over pay. The strike is not being organised by a union but by a social media-based group called Delivery Job UK, and it mostly involves couriers working for Deliveroo and Stuart. Some couriers working for other apps are also involved. A strike also took place on 2 February.
The 2 February action saw thousands of couriers, mostly in London, but also in cities across the UK, stopping deliveries. The delivery apps tried to break the strike by offering astronomical fees to those riders who did accept orders. Patchy picketing and protest motorcades around strike hotspots were able to reduce the impact of scabbing and shore up the strike.
The riders are right to strike. Pay for food couriers has been falling since the pandemic. Pay is opaque — an algorithm decides the rate for each job with little or no explanation given. Many couriers work brutally long weeks just to cover their costs and make something like minimum wage on top. 50-hour weeks are not uncommon, and many work even longer hours than that.
Delivery Job UK appears to be the creation of a group of mostly-Brazilian couriers working in the UK. They have built up a large following among other couriers on social media and over WhatsApp. The internal workings of the group are not clear. Evidently a group of riders have set themselves up as a leadership for a large section of the delivery workforce. Good for them! But the leadership of the strike needs to join up with the broader trade union movement by engaging with the IWGB union, which is the main trade union organising couriers in the UK currently. The IWGB, likewise, needs to activate itself in order to meet the demands of the hour.
There is a pattern in courier organising in the UK that friendship groups of well-known riders create a kind of executive committee in a given area, and organise a strike when pay is particularly bad. But these networks often lack experience in organising strikes, and they are generally disconnected from the wider socialist and workers’ movements. For these reasons, spontaneous couriers’ strikes tend to fall apart quickly. The opacity and lack of formal democracy in the leading friendship group often makes it hard to turn over new leaders when the initial organisers burn out or move on. What is happening now appears to be a bigger, more serious version of this long-standing pattern, with all of its problems as well as its strengths. A widespread belief among some couriers that trade unions are scams (often connected to migrant workers’ experiences of corrupt labour organisations in other countries, sometimes to do with experience of unions in Britain) does not help.
Socialists around the UK — not just staff or members of the IWGB — need to connect with this round of couriers’ strikes and offer our assistance and our organising experience to help couriers form a strong, durable organisation that can win.
Valentine’s Day strike misery for UK lovers
By AFP
February 13, 2024
Delivery riders and drivers are striking for better pay in Britain
By AFP
February 13, 2024
Delivery riders and drivers are striking for better pay in Britain
- Copyright AFP Ludovic MARIN
Britain’s couples could struggle for Valentine’s Day gifts and meals after Amazon staff went on strike over pay Tuesday — and will soon be joined by takeaway delivery drivers, organisers said.
Disheartened workers for food apps including Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat will walk out on Wednesday.
Instagram account Delivery Jobs UK, grouping together some of the sector’s workforce, has urged meal and shopping platform couriers to strike on February 14 between 1700 GMT and 2200 GMT.
That is when the appetite for speedily-delivered Valentine’s Day evening meals is expected to surge across Britain — for those who don’t want to cook.
The GMB trade union has called a three-day strike this week at Amazon’s giant warehouse facility in Coventry, central England, spanning from Tuesday to Thursday.
This week’s walkouts come amid broader UK industrial unrest as workers’ pay fails to keep pace with elevated prices, with the latest inflation data due Wednesday.
Ulisses, a Brazilian courier who declined to give his surname for fear of reprisals, is one of the organisers of Delivery Jobs UK, which hosts 4,000 mainly foreign workers who are mostly Brazilian.
“The choice of Valentine’s Day for the strike is strategic, aimed at maximising visibility and impact,” Ulisses told AFP in an interview.
“Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest days for delivery services, with a high demand for meal deliveries.”
Wednesday’s strike also coincides with the publication of the latest official UK inflation data for January.
Couriers are demanding fair treatment for their “critical role”, particularly after they helped feed the nation during Covid pandemic lockdowns.
“By striking on this day, we aim to highlight the critical role delivery workers play in the economy and the importance of fair compensation and working conditions,” added Ulisses.
“This action is a call to both the companies and the public to recognise and address the unsustainable earnings that have become all too common in the delivery industry.”
Delivery Jobs UK’s membership also comprises UK-based delivery staff from other nations including Albania, Nigeria and Romania.
Britain’s couples could struggle for Valentine’s Day gifts and meals after Amazon staff went on strike over pay Tuesday — and will soon be joined by takeaway delivery drivers, organisers said.
Disheartened workers for food apps including Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat will walk out on Wednesday.
Instagram account Delivery Jobs UK, grouping together some of the sector’s workforce, has urged meal and shopping platform couriers to strike on February 14 between 1700 GMT and 2200 GMT.
That is when the appetite for speedily-delivered Valentine’s Day evening meals is expected to surge across Britain — for those who don’t want to cook.
The GMB trade union has called a three-day strike this week at Amazon’s giant warehouse facility in Coventry, central England, spanning from Tuesday to Thursday.
This week’s walkouts come amid broader UK industrial unrest as workers’ pay fails to keep pace with elevated prices, with the latest inflation data due Wednesday.
Ulisses, a Brazilian courier who declined to give his surname for fear of reprisals, is one of the organisers of Delivery Jobs UK, which hosts 4,000 mainly foreign workers who are mostly Brazilian.
“The choice of Valentine’s Day for the strike is strategic, aimed at maximising visibility and impact,” Ulisses told AFP in an interview.
“Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest days for delivery services, with a high demand for meal deliveries.”
Wednesday’s strike also coincides with the publication of the latest official UK inflation data for January.
Couriers are demanding fair treatment for their “critical role”, particularly after they helped feed the nation during Covid pandemic lockdowns.
“By striking on this day, we aim to highlight the critical role delivery workers play in the economy and the importance of fair compensation and working conditions,” added Ulisses.
“This action is a call to both the companies and the public to recognise and address the unsustainable earnings that have become all too common in the delivery industry.”
Delivery Jobs UK’s membership also comprises UK-based delivery staff from other nations including Albania, Nigeria and Romania.
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