(NewsNation) — Drivers for ride-share platforms Uber and Lyft, as well as food delivery services such as DoorDash, conducted strikes nationwide on Valentine’s Day after saying they’ve been experiencing declining pay as well as other problems.
“We want to get paid for what we work for,” one driver told NewsNation Wednesday. “We want to be able to take care of our family, because this is too much and they’re taking advantage of us.”
Uber and Lyft drivers previously told Business Insider that they’ve seen the service become less profitable for them than it used to be.
“Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers are TIRED of being mistreated by the app companies. We’re sick of working 80 hours/week just to make ends meet, being constantly scared for our safety, and worrying about being deactivated with the click of a button,” Justice for App Workers, one of the groups involved in the protests, said on its website.
Drivers have also said platforms take disproportionately high amounts as commissions.
“A year into algorithmic pricing, drivers have seen incredible decrease of our pay … whatever calculations and algorithms they’re using, it’s absolutely useless,” Nicole Moore, president of the Rideshare Drivers United union, said to Reuters.
When Uber and Lyft first started, Steven Everett, of Justice for App Workers, said he thought they were “the best thing since sliced bread. But now, “they’re just taking full advantage of us and we’re tired of it,” he told NewsNation anchor Nichole Berlie the day before the strike.
Uber said in a statement that its “driver earnings remain strong,” pointing to an earnings call where CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said drivers make $33 per utilized hour.
However, Gridwise, a company that analyzes gig economy trends said in its annual Gig Mobility Report that in the past year, drivers’ average gross monthly earnings have declined. Uber drivers saw the sharpest decrease, with 17.1%.
Sergio Avedian, a part-time Uber driver and senior contributor to blog and YouTube channel The Rideshare Guy, told Business Insider that he made $21.50 per online hour before expenses in Los Angeles.
“Taking out my $6 per hour expenses, I might as well go flip burgers,” he said. “I can make $20 an hour without risk.”
In a statement to NewsNation, Lyft said it’s constantly working to improve the driver experience, touting a new “minimum earnings guarantee and an improved deactivation appeals process.”
“Drivers will always make at least 70% of the weekly rider fares after external fees,” a spokesperson said.
However, Everett said Tuesday that they’re still taking internal fees.
“Inside fees take the exact same thing they were taking before,” Everett said.
Despite the strike, though, some riders said Wednesday they weren’t feeling the effects, though one said in an interview with NewsNation’s Nancy Loo that the service took longer than usual.
“It’s quite expensive, but I feel like that’s where we are,” he said.
DoorDash said in a statement that it did not see an impact to business as a result of the protests.
Reuters contributed to this story.