International News

NEW YORK, (APP/AFP) – Pressing for better pay
and work conditions, Uber drivers in New York have formed a labor group to lobby for their interests, since they cannot easily unionize.
The Amalgamated Local of Livery Employees in Solidarity, known by its
acronym ALLES, has had some 1,000 of the 50,000 Uber drivers in New York sign up to work on shared concerns.
Legally, Uber refuses to recognize its drivers as employees, and says
they are contractors. That makes forming a real union tough — so far done only in Seattle. ALLES does not set fares but could emerge as a major bargaining force.
“We want at least a minimum wage. Today, if I am dropping a person
from one place to another, I am maybe getting a fiver or $6. We cannot live in New York City,” said Armughan Asar, an Uber driver who is one of the new group’s leaders.
The move follows a 15 percent drop in Uber’s New York fares in New
York. Uber also recently proposed $100 million settlement with
contractors in California and Massachusetts seeking to change the status of drivers and thus obtain reimbursement of certain expenses.
“We are here today to rally Uber drivers who are working exhausting
hours without receiving enough compensation to survive NYC’s high cost of living,” said Kevin Lynch, an ALLES co-chair, adding it was time for the city and state to toughen their regulation of Uber.