By the time the New York Stock Exchange closes on Thursday, Uber—which will float its initial public offering that day—could raise $10 billion from investors across the world. Uber drivers—who, according to a recent study, earn around $9.21 an hour—won’t be so lucky.



The day before, in anticipation of the ride-sharing and technology company’s stock market debut, thousands of Uber drivers (and those with other ride-share platforms) in at least eight U.S. cities—including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Chicago—will switch off their apps and go on strike. The Wednesday protest, according to driver advocates, is meant to highlight the company’s low wages and bad labor practices, which have, in recent years, forced workers into homelessness, and, in some cases, even driven them to suicide. Demands vary from city to city, but include caps on the commission that Uber takes from drivers—which can take as much as 70 percent on some fares—more transparency on pricing, and an end to Uber’s practice of arbitrarily suspending drivers from the application, in effect firing them. The job action, in a sector loosely described as the “gig economy,” is the latest in a wave of strikes—the largest the country has seen since 1986—with unrest across diverse workforces including public school teachers in West Virginia, Marriott hotel workers on the West Coast, and most recently, grocery store clerks in New England.

“This strike is an immediate response to the cuts Uber has made in light of its IPO,” said Ben Dolber, an organizer with Rideshare Drivers United in Los Angeles, one of the organizations leading Wednesday’s strike. In April, Uber admitted to lowering fares and wages to prepare for its public debut. (“We expect driver dissatisfaction will generally increase,” the company’s SEC filing stated.) “Drivers are really at the brink,” Dolber said. “The amount of frustration indicates to me that the strike is going to be very successful.”

In 2018, Uber registered over 3 million drivers across 600 cities worldwide, and has an active monthly ridership of 75 million. This March, Uber notified Los Angeles drivers it would slash pay 25 percent, from 80 cents to 60 cents per mile. In response, thousands of workers across the city declared a 25-hour strike, inspiring drivers across the country. “The success of our strike in March resonated [with workers] nationally and internationally,” said Dolber. “We had drivers contacting us from across the country.”

In April, thousands of drivers in Argentina went on strike, blaring horns and marching through the streets of downtown Buenos Aires. This Wednesday, drivers from Costa Rica to Scotland to Kenya will also strike, possibly making this one of the largest days of collective worker action in history.