PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Uber and Lyft drivers are making their voices heard in Philadelphia and around the country Wednesday as they call for better pay and working conditions. Several cities, including Philadelphia, are involved in Wednesday’s strike. The protests come just ahead of Uber’s initial public stock offering Friday. Uber hopes to raise $9 billion, putting the company’s valuation in excess of $91 billion. It’s not the first time drivers for ride-hailing apps have staged protests. Strikes were planned in several cities ahead of Lyft’s IPO last month, although the disruption to riders appeared to be minimal then, too. More cities are participating in Wednesday’s protest. Uber and Lyft drivers are standing in solidarity from Philadelphia to California, demanding they be heard and seen as a vital part of the ride-sharing company, saying they deserve a livable wage. Drivers let their signs and their chants do their talking, as dozens rallied outside of Uber’s hub in Southwest Philadelphia. “Just keep the pay fair, keep it at a decent livable wage,” one driver said. Mark D’Amico Indicted For Alleged Role In $400,000 GoFundMe Scam They’re demanding fair pay in what they say has become and exhaustively unfair job. “It’s incredibly stressful that you are going to go out and work that day and you don’t even know if you’re going to finish that day ahead,” Uber drive Angela Vogel said. “Other days, you work 12 hours, driving nonstop, just to try and make up for the bad days and you’re exhausted.” Protests and strikes are happening around the country, as drivers in Los Angeles, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago and Minneapolis turn off the ride-sharing app for 12 hours during a work stoppage. They’re lobbying for higher wages, employee health benefits and recognition in Uber’s management structure. “Whether people do this part-time, full-time, for extra money or because they really need it — whatever kind of work you do, you deserve fair pay,” Vogel said. The national day of action comes just ahead of Uber’s much-anticipated initial public stock offering that is planned for Friday. Both Uber and Lyft drivers say the company will rake in millions of dollars from investors, while drivers scramble to make end’s meet. “The people that are going to benefit off of this didn’t make this company. We make this company, we keep it going,” Uber driver Patrice Davis said. “None of us drivers are gonna see any of that.” PATCO Postpones Implementation Of New Overnight Schedule Uber released a statement in response to the national protests, saying: “Drivers are at the heart of our service. We cannot succeed without them and thousands of people come into work at Uber every day focused on how to make their experience better, on and off the road.” Drivers also want the state to impose more regulations on Uber and Lyft drivers for their protection.<doc-sep>Drivers for rideshare companies Uber and Lyft plan a massive protest on Wednesday , just two days before Uber makes its initial public offering (IPO) into the company. The strike is expected to span from coast to coast in the United States, and drivers in London are also expected to join. Drivers in New York City, the largest contingency of Uber employees, are expected to log off their ride-hailing apps from 7-9 a.m.—during the major rush hour. Drivers in these major American cities said they will join protests with their New York colleagues: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Diego and Washington D.C. Each city will have different hours and methods in which they will protest, with some of them lasting a half-day while others going a full 24 hours, according to Money. Drivers in Atlanta and San Francisco plan to strike for 12 hours from their rideshare apps. Those in Los Angeles, Boston and San Diego will do the same thing for 24 hours. Meanwhile, drivers in Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. and other cities around the country planned to hold rallies as part of their solidarity protests. Uber drivers in New York City say low wages, lowered fares and more cars on the roads have led to this point, which happens two days before Uber publicly offers $90 billion in stocks. So while drivers seek higher wages, they believe corporate bigwigs will walk away with billions in their pockets once stocks become available. "Wall Street investors are telling Uber and Lyft to cut down on driver income, stop incentives, and go faster to driverless cars," said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. "With the IPO, Uber's corporate owners are set to make billions, all while drivers are left in poverty and go bankrupt. That's why NYTWA members are joining the international strike to stand up to Uber greed." Desai said the protest is meant to send a message to the corporate leaders. "Enough is enough," Boston-based Uber driver Felipe Martinez said in Money. "It's on the backs of the drivers that this company has grown, and we need to be heard." The graphic below, provided by Statista, illustrates the rise of taxi and ridesharing services in New York. Drivers in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Boston will stage 24-hour long strikes from their ride-sharing apps, those in Atlanta and San Francisco will strike for 12 hours, and New York City-based drivers will strike for two hours during morning rush hour. Groups of drivers in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., among other cities, will hold rallies in solidarity with drivers around the country. Rideshare Drivers United organized the strike that could affect hundreds of thousands of rideshare users on Wednesday. "The actions are taking place in Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, DC, Boston, and Philly. Only Rideshare Drivers United - Los Angeles and San Diego have officially called strikes. The other cities are independently organized and putting together a variety of different actions for a unified National Day of Action," a spokesperson for Rideshare Drivers United told WJLA-TV last week. This article was updated to include and infographic.<doc-sep>Traffic & Transit Uber, Lyft Drivers To Strike In Philadelphia Drivers for ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft will go on strike Wednesday in cities across the country. Reply Drivers for ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft will go on strike Wednesday in cities across the country. (Adam Berry/Getty Images) PHILADELPHIA —Uber and Lyft users in Philadelphia will have to make due with fewer drivers or find alternative modes of transportation Wednesday as thousands of drivers nationwide plan to strike. Organized protests are planned in at least 10 cities nationwide, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, Atlanta, and of course Philadelphia, according to Rideshare Drivers United- Los Angeles. The group called for strikes on all ride-hailing platforms beginning at midnight. Drivers in some cities plan to shut off their apps for 12 hours to 24 hours, while others plan to strike for only a couple hours. Demonstrations are expected at major airports and hubs for the two ride-hailing giants. Here's what's planned in Philadelphia: Organizer: Philadelphia Drivers Union & Philadelphia Limousine Association Time: noon to 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 8 Location: Uber Greenlight Hub, 7821 Bartram Ave. Action: "12 noon at the Uber Greenlight Hub, to deliver our demands and push state and city regulators to do their jobs of ensuring a safe and secure workforce of drivers for our city." See the Facebook event for the strike here. The move comes shortly after Lyft went public in late March and ahead of Uber's much-anticipated initial public offering this week, The Washington Post reported. Uber was expected to raise roughly $9 billion in its IPO. Most ride-hailing drivers work part-time. Lyft told The Post in a statement that access to "flexible, extra income" makes a large difference for millions of people and that its driver' hourly pay has climbed over the last two years. Uber said its drivers are at the "heart" of its service and that it "can't succeed without them." In New York, drivers with Uber, Lyft, Juno and Via voted to strike in solidarity with other drivers. That strike was planned to last two hours during the rush-hour commute. A rally was then planned outside the headquarters of Uber, Lyft and the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission. The citywide strike is meant to call for increased job security, "liveable" incomes and fare regulations. "I'm striking for my kid's future. I have a 5-year-old son, and I drive for Uber to support him," Sonam Lama, an Uber driver and member of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said in a release. "But it's becoming harder and harder. First Uber cut the rates, then they put too many cars on the roads so there weren't enough fares to go around."<doc-sep>
Drivers for Uber and Lyft ride-sharing companies are organizing strikes Wednesday in 10 cities, but it does not appear that operations in Harrisburg will be affected. The cities where the strikes are expected to occur, although they will take different forms in different cities: Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Stamford, Conn. In Philadelphia drivers are expected to continue to work, saying they can't afford to take time off, but will rally at noon at the Southwest Philadelphia Uber driver headquarters, according to Philly.com. In some other cities they'll be turning off their apps for a set length of time Wednesday. Uber and Lyft drivers appear to be available to customers in the Harrisburg area as of mid-morning Wednesday. Drivers say they are striking to protest what they say are decreasing wages for drivers and a lack of job security, according to NPR. The strike comes just days ahead of Uber's initial public stock offering on Friday. Uber hopes to raise $9 billion and is expected to be valued at up to $91.5 billion. “Uber/Lyft going public on the stock market will make billionaires of Uber and Lyft bosses while drivers struggle in poverty and the companies destroy the livelihoods of drivers in every sector,” the New York drivers organization posted on its website. Uber and Lyft each expressed concern for their drivers, who they say are contractors, not employees. “Drivers are at the heart of our service ─ we can’t succeed without them ─ and thousands of people come into work at Uber every day focused on how to make their experience better, on and off the road," Uber said in a statement. “Whether it’s more consistent earnings, stronger insurance protection or fully-funded four-year degrees for drivers or their families, we’ll continue to improve the experience for and with drivers.”