![]() ![]() “I’ve never seen this hunger for change that exists with drivers. “Independent contractors are really successfully using the co-op model to organize themselves and be able to compete for a living wage,” she said. Levinson said they had formed small food delivery and ride-hailing cooperatives. Levinson, a professor at the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law who studies employee ownership.Īlthough it is challenging for gig workers to organize, Ms. ![]() The economic stress caused by the pandemic has prodded workers to use cooperatives as a lever against existing companies and - they hope - to increase their pay, said Ariana R. The founders of the Drivers Cooperative said members of the group struggled to keep up with their expenses when they earned typical ride-hail wages.Ī spokeswoman for Lyft, Julie Wood, said, “We’re constantly working to improve the driver experience on our platform and share the goals of allowing drivers to work efficiently and independently.” A spokesman for Uber declined to comment on the cooperatives. ![]() The company has responded by aggressively increasing its spending on bonuses and incentives, branding the effort as a “ stimulus.” In March, Uber said drivers in New York City earned a median of $37.44 per hour.īut once the supply of driver recovers, Uber’s wages will most likely fall. Many drivers have been hesitant to return to the road given the pandemic, creating a national shortage.ĭuring an earnings report this month, Uber said it had 3.5 million active drivers and couriers during the first three months of the year, down 22 percent from the previous year. In normal times, the higher wage might attract drivers to the cooperative. The Drivers Cooperative said it planned to pay 10 percent above the wage minimums set by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, and return profits to drivers in the form of dividends. Still, drivers who joined the effort said even a small cooperative could make a big difference in their work, allowing them to earn more money and have a say in the way the company was run. It is an ambitious plan to challenge the ride-hailing giants, and it faces the same hurdles that tend to block other emerging players in the industry: Few have the technical prowess, the venture capital dollars or the supply of readily available drivers to subvert an established company like Uber. The cooperative has recruited around 2,500 drivers so far and intends to take a smaller commission than Uber or Lyft and charge riders a lower fare. ![]()
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