Uber, Lyft drivers begin one-day strike in Twin Cities

[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: In the next hour, a group of Uber and Lyft drivers will begin a one-day strike. Drivers will shut off their rideshare apps and won't take riders to or from the airport. Up to 2,000 independent drivers across the state are expected to go offline from 1:00 this afternoon until 7:00 tonight, ending the day with a rally.

Sahan Journal reporter Alfonzo Galvan has been covering this story. He joins us right now with more perspective on what's happening today and what's at stake. Alfonzo, thanks for taking the time.

ALFONZO GALVAN: Thank you for having me, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: This has been an ongoing situation. I mean, rideshare drivers have been pushing for a boost in pay in Minneapolis and across the state for quite some time, right?

ALFONZO GALVAN: Yeah, it's been ongoing. It's been over a year now. Some drivers have been organizing for almost two years now, trying to get this issue passed forward.

CATHY WURZER: So what are they asking for?

ALFONZO GALVAN: So right now what the drivers are asking for, they're asking for an increase in pay. They're asking for better job security due to constant deactivations. And they're asking just for more support from the rideshare companies that employ them.

CATHY WURZER: Can I ask about the deactivation issues? Can you explain that a little bit?

ALFONZO GALVAN: Yeah, so drivers are facing deactivations if a passenger leaves a bad review. And they're trying to find ways to combat some of those where there are passengers out there that maybe are leaving constant bad reviews on multiple drivers. So drivers are trying to find a way to appeal that and just streamline the appeal process so they can get back on the road and back making a living.

CATHY WURZER: Mm-hmm. So, by the way, how much do drivers make for a typical fare, if there is such a thing as a typical fare?

ALFONZO GALVAN: Well, that's kind of disputed. Both Uber and Lyft say drivers make more than what drivers are claiming. In Minneapolis, some of the council members are pushing to get rideshare drivers paid at least a Minneapolis minimum wage, around $15 an hour. Uber has come out and said that their drivers in Minneapolis make more than $15 an hour.

CATHY WURZER: Do they get paid per mile, too?

ALFONZO GALVAN: Yeah, that's one of the things they're right now debating when they talk to policy makers, both at the city level and at the state level, is they can't seem to come up with a mutually agreeable term for a per mile rate.

CATHY WURZER: I am betting that driver safety also has to be top of mind.

ALFONZO GALVAN: Yeah, a lot of them feel unsafe on the job. They're asking for certain benefits. For instance, they've always said in the past you could use a gift card to book a ride on Uber and Lyft. You didn't have to-- a gift card is harder to trace than per se a credit card, debit card. So a lot of drivers feel that it's inadequate for them.

CATHY WURZER: Boy, there's a lot of issues here. I understand even some of the drivers themselves are divided?

ALFONZO GALVAN: Yeah, that's right. Like, for instance, today's strike is being organized by a group called MULDA members. MULDA members splintered from the original MULDA that stands for the Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association. And MULDA members have kind of taken more of an aggressive approach to getting their demands met.

They are upset at the governor's veto. They're upset at the veto at the city level in Minneapolis. And they're trying to take a little bit more aggressive actions to push both lawmakers and the apps to give them some of those things they're asking for.

CATHY WURZER: Did the drivers test out a strike on New Year's Eve?

ALFONZO GALVAN: Yeah, MULDA members told me they tested out a strike New Year's Eve. They said they had about 200 drivers participating from about, I want to say, 1:00 PM New Year's Eve to 6:00 AM New Year's Day. They said they tracked prices, and they claimed it was pretty successful for them. And now they want to go full scale today.

CATHY WURZER: As I said, this issue has been before the legislature. And the governor, if I'm not mistaken, had a bill and vetoed it and created a task force, right?

ALFONZO GALVAN: Yeah. Right. So Governor Walz vetoed a bill in May that would grant these drivers some increased wages, protection, securities. Drivers were upset about that. Weeks later, the governor formed a task force to look into the issue and give recommendations for policy change for this year.

The task force was made up of drivers and representatives from the rideshare companies. And they gave 24 recommendations to the state. One issue that they couldn't agree upon was that pay per mile.

CATHY WURZER: So it sounds like this is going to come back next session, this coming session.

ALFONZO GALVAN: It seems like it's going to come back this session. It will also be back in front of the Minneapolis City Council this month. There's two ordinances that are being pushed forth by council members Robin Wonsley, Jason Chavez, and Jamal Osman.

CATHY WURZER: What are you hearing from Uber and Lyft? Are they coming to the table with anything? What do drivers say?

ALFONZO GALVAN: Uber and Lyft have, over this past year and a half, started more communications with some of the rideshare driver groups. Recently, Lyft set a new per ride minimum pay for drivers in the Twin Cities region, which is now $5 per ride. So drivers in the Twin Cities driving for Lyft will at least get paid $5 per ride that they make.

CATHY WURZER: And I was trying to remember, gosh, didn't Uber threaten to pull services from Greater Minnesota? And maybe you can explain surge pricing for the Twin Cities and how this also affects Greater Minnesota. It's a little confusing.

ALFONZO GALVAN: Yeah, depending on whether it's through a proposed city ordinance in Minneapolis or through a proposed bill at the state level, there's been different threats from both Uber and Lyft of either terminating services in Greater Minnesota or in Minneapolis or just limiting them. For instance, earlier this year, I want to say it was August, Uber said that-- initially it said that it would cease operations in Minneapolis should the proposed ordinance go into effect. Then after the ordinance was approved by the city council, they said they would limit their operations for only premium services.

CATHY WURZER: This is a really big issue for so many people who use rideshare, I mean, especially in Greater Minnesota, I would think.

ALFONZO GALVAN: Yeah. So the majority of Uber and Lyft's operations in the state, it actually, in the Twin Cities metro area, there are some areas in Greater Minnesota that have Uber and Lyft presence but not as big as the Twin Cities. That's why the fight seems to be centered in the Twin Cities.

CATHY WURZER: Sure. OK. Say, final question. They're going to have a rally tonight after the strike. Any idea of how this could impact travelers?

ALFONZO GALVAN: That's the big question right now. I've reached out to both Uber and Lyft to see if they're expecting a driver shortage today, what that could mean. We're tracking prices for the night, 1:00 PM through 7:00 PM.

Drivers said they will not be logging on to the apps. They will not be taking rides. And a rally is expected to be held at the airport from 5:00 to 7:00. But it's to be seen how that will affect prices and demand for Uber.

CATHY WURZER: Mm-hmm. All right. As we say, this is obviously going to come before the state legislature too and the Minneapolis City Council. Alfonzo, thank you for your time-- I appreciate it-- and your reporting.

ALFONZO GALVAN: Of course. Thank you, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Alfonzo Galvan is with the Sahan Journal. By the way, their story about this, Alfonzo's story, is at mprnews.org.