Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) came out in support of striking Uber and Lyft drivers on Wednesday and asked her followers to boycott the rideshare companies, but campaign finance records show her team spent nearly $2,000 on rides through them in just three months.
The boycott call from the New York socialist comes as drivers for the two companies went on strike to protest for higher wages. One of the biggest protest sites is in Ocasio-Cortez's district in New York City, which has been ground zero in the fight between rideshare and traditional taxi services.
Ocasio-Cortez asked her supporters through social media to participate in a one-day boycott of both Uber and Lyft, calling it a "small but big way you can help all the drivers you've met get paid more to feed their families."
🗣Labor, labor - read all about it!
Your Direct Action for today: Don’t take an Uber or Lyft just for the day. (Just today! Cabs are fine! You can do it!)
It’s a small but big way you can help all the drivers you’ve met get paid more to feed their families + support themselves. https://t.co/oaQZsYqukV
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 8, 2019
The striking drivers complain that the rideshare companies are taking too large of a cut of their fares. They also say they are given little job security by the services, which can terminate drivers immediately.
Campaign finance records show that Ocasio-Cortez and her team have been avid users of both services, spending $1,402.39 on Lyft rides and $490.56 on Uber rides in the first three months of 2019 alone.
During her election last year, the Ocasio-Cortez campaign spent a total of $16,235.71 on rides from the two companies.
The companies have come under fire from politicians such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) for paying out large salaries to executives while the drivers struggle to put food on the table.
"The greed has got to end," Sanders said.
The Sanders presidential campaign has made six disbursements to Lyft this cycle, and none to Uber.