Chicago Uber, Lyft drivers join Valentine’s Day strike with thousands across country

Uber, Lyft and DoorDash drivers were gathered at O'Hare Airport's rideshare waiting lot Wednesday morning to kick off a strike that was held across multiple cities across the country, including in Philadelphia, Miami and Austin, Texas.

More than 50 drivers were on strike until 1 p.m., though some said they would not accept rides for the entire day.

Drivers complained of safety concerns, decreases in pay and having their accounts unfairly terminated or suspended, also known as deactivated, by rideshare apps.

The strike was organized by the Independent Drivers Guild Illinois (IDG), a community of drivers fighting for better working conditions, and Justice For App Workers, a national coalition working to improve the conditions of app workers with the goal of creating a union.

“We’re out here to let them know if no driver drives, there’s no Uber, there’s no Lyft,” said Steven Everett, co-founder of Independent Drivers Guild Illinois.

The guild wants drivers to earn 70% of what riders pay, to let drivers advocate for themselves when facing deactivation and require passengers to upload IDs for safety concerns.

In a statement Wednesday, Lyft said it has a new safety feature that can connect drivers with a security agent in real time, and it is making deactivation appeals easier with an in-app button and offering access to a team dedicated to deactivation appeals. Lyft is also providing a new minimum earnings guaranteeing that drivers earn 70% of the rider fares after fees. The company said they’re launching a new earnings summary in the Lyft app so drivers can see where every cent goes.

Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For more on this story, visit the chicago.suntimes.com.

• This report was produced in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. For related coverage, visit chicago.suntimes.com.