Uber — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Lutsenko_Oleksandr
On Friday, April 28, Uber and Lyft drivers gathered at airports all throughout Florida to launch a historic campaign to unionize ridesharing workers in the state.
The protests took place at the airports in Orlando, Miami, and Tampa.
In an effort to secure more pay and put an end to allegedly unfair deactivations of drivers, Uber and Lyft drivers will establish the Florida Chapter of the Independent Drivers Guild.
According to Brendan Sexton, president of the Independent Drivers Guild, similar initiatives have so far been successful in a number of Northern states.
“It’s about banding together and fighting for what’s right,” said Sexton. “And drivers and workers all over the country and the Florida drivers are just the latest example of workers being fed up and taking a stand and fighting for their own working conditions, pay, and benefits.”
Despite recent attempts by the Florida legislature to cripple unions in the state, Sexton said he still believes the Florida drivers will succeed.
“I think the drivers are going to be very successful,” said Sexton. “The drivers in Florida are absolutely motivated to make sure that they can earn wages that can feed their family, that can house their family. It’s the driver power, it’s the worker power that’s going to make us successful.”
Just a few days prior, the Florida House passed a bill called “Employee Organizations Representing Public Employees” that would make it more difficult to organize.
Last year, “the rideshare company announced that it is implementing this short-term fuel surcharge to help drivers and Uber Eats delivery workers pay for the ongoing record-high gas prices. “
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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
