People planning to use Uber or Lyft to get around Wednesday may have to wait longer if enough drivers threaten to leave their cars unused.

Some Twin Cities drivers plan to join their peers in at least seven other US cities for a day of strikes to get a better salary.

Lauren Parrott, of Hopkins, works for both companies and said she would not launch her apps to send a message to California-based companies.

"Stop ripping us off. Be honest in what you are taking, "said Parrott, who has been driving for more than a year. "I work harder to earn the same amount. I would like them to pay us more. "

Two months ago, New York City put in place new rules requiring companies such as Uber and Lyft to pay rental car drivers a minimum wage of $ 28 at the hour before the posting of taxes and fees, which corresponds to a real salary slightly above $ 17 an hour.

On a good day, Parrott said she could earn $ 25 an hour, but "this is really the chance of the draw," she said. Most of the time, she earns between 8 and 12 dollars an hour. This corresponds to the minimum wage in Minneapolis, which is $ 10.25 for small employers and $ 11.25 for large employers. Parrott said that Uber and Lyft were constantly changing their pay structure, making it too difficult to qualify for bonuses, which made her depressed.

A recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found that the median salary of Uber and Lyft drivers at the national level was $ 8.55 per hour, which is slightly higher than the federal minimum wage of $ 7.25. hour. The Gridwise app, which helps Lyft and Uber drivers find the best times and the best places to drive, allows them to earn an average hourly rate of $ 18.65 at the hour, before taxes and fees.

Motorists in Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, plan to participate in the strike one day. Will it be successful? Joyce Beebe, a public finance researcher at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston, said that probably not.

"I do not think Uber [and Lyft] will pay you $ 28 at the hour, "she said. "They can get something on an ad hoc basis."

Drivers are independent contractors rather than employees. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, independent contractors do not have to pay the minimum wage. Labor costs are typically 20 to 30 percent cheaper by using independent contractors, said Beebe. This is essential because Uber is ready for its initial public offering that could bring in more than $ 90 million to the company. The company is expected to lose $ 1 billion in the first quarter of this year, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"After the IPO, Uber will have to face the pressure of investors and the market for it to show financial improvements, which makes it unlikely a substantial increase in the wages of drivers," Beebe said.

Uber recently said that he was distributing more than $ 300 million in unique bonuses. In the United States, qualified drivers will receive a Driver Appreciation Award of between US $ 100 and US $ 10,000, based on the number of trips made on April 7, said Rob Johnson, Public Policy Manager at Uber.

Lyft has not responded to a request for comment.

Beebe said a strike could bring local lawmakers to follow the example of New York and enact legislation requiring higher wages. But this is not a sure thing, as Lyft brought a lawsuit against New York to challenge the order.

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