Uber, Lyft drivers hold LaGuardia strike, call for higher pay

LAGUARDIA AIRPORT, Queens (PIX11) — New York City Uber and Lyft drivers are staging a 12-hour strike Sunday at LaGuardia Airport, calling once again for a pay raise.

The labor action will run from noon to midnight, with drivers picketing at the airport and refusing pickups from the transit hub.

In their third strike in recent months, drivers for the services are calling for higher pay, particularly in the face of inflation and rising costs of living.

The drivers are protesting after Uber filed a lawsuit to stop a planned pay raise for its drivers in December. That rate hike had been approved by the Taxi and Limousine Commission and was supposed to go in place until Uber sued.

At the beginning of January, a New York judge blocked the raise, ruling that though the drivers do deserve a pay increase, the TLC did not properly explain how it determined what that increase should be. The judge urged the TLC to try again.

Sunday’s strike comes a few days before a TLC hearing on the new pay rules.

“As promised, we are continuing to fight to protect the minimum pay standard that the City’s hardworking drivers deserve,” said TLC Commissioner David Do in a statement. “We have proposed a new rule that increases minimum pay and contains detailed explanations of our calculations. We sincerely hope that there will be no further attempts to thwart this much needed pay adjustment.”

In a statement issued after the beginning of the strike, an Uber spokesperson said that the labor action had "no impact" on the company's operations.

"As with the last couple of times, the taxi industry ‘protest’ has had no impact on Uber," the statement read. "The taxi association should focus on issues that actually resonate with drivers, like the TLC’s universally hated lockout rule, rather than PR stunts.”

And in a statement issued prior to the strike's start, a spokesperson for Lyft said, “The TLC's proposal includes changes that will ensure fairer competition within our industry. We are appreciative of them listening to our concerns and look forward to continued engagement on ways we can improve rideshare overall.”