Uber and Lyft drivers joining a strike across California on Wednesday are aiming their message at Washington, in the first such rideshare-driver strike intended to rally support for national legislative changes that would improve their working conditions.

       The 24-hour strike, which began midnight Wednesday, aims to push Congress to pass the Protect the Right to Organize, or PRO, Act — proposed federal legislation that could allow contractors to unionize if they choose, participating drivers said.

       It comes at a time of growing demand for rideshares in Los Angeles and other big cities, as people venture back out to restaurants and bars —and of not enough drivers, because many sat out work during the pandemic and never returned because they say the pay is no longer good enough.

       “I’m striking simply because drivers have never had the ability to negotiate with the company,” L.A. driver Ben Valdez said. “They’ve never asked us how much we want to get paid. They just basically indiscriminately change rates and programs however they please.”

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       The strike and accompanying rallies planned later Wednesday in L.A., San Francisco, and San Diego are organized by the driver group Rideshare Drivers United, which said this is the first such strike since Californians voted overwhelmingly to pass Proposition 22.

       The bill enshrined in law many gig workers’ contract status and has allowed companies such as Uber and Lyft, which bankrolled the measure, to continue to rely on relatively cheap workers without offering the slate of benefits and protections that employees usually get.

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       Many rideshare drivers say their earnings, and their ability to control their working conditions, have deteriorated since Proposition 22 passed less than a year ago, and with Wednesday’s strike they are saying: No more.

       By directing their protest at U.S. lawmakers, they are bypassing their usual route of pressure on Uber and Lyft, who they have long tried to lobby to increase fares or be more transparent about what riders pay and what share of that drivers get.

       Some ridshare drivers say the months since Prop 22 passed last November have laid bare how little control they feel they have over the quality of the work they do and their pay. They say Uber and Lyft have implemented changes in the last year or so that have made working for the companies, and getting a steady paycheck, harder to predict and rely on.

       That includes lower per-mile pay for airport rides, and reversing a suit of features that made the job more flexible and transparent.

       Uber did not respond to a request for comment. Lyft referred the Times to Protect App Based Drivers and Services, the coalition that backed Prop 22 and includes Lyft, Uber and community groups. A coalition representative said Uber and Lyft drivers have benefited from the passage of the bill in some ways, including the ability to quality for healthcare credit or support.

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       As of April 2021, Uber drivers in L.A. make $26.85 an hour while those in San Francisco make $25.28 an hour, the representative said. Full-time Lyft drivers can also qualify for up to $4800 in healthcare credits.

       The rideshare driver group said it isn’t seeking or expecting immediate changes or concessions from the companies. Instead, striking drivers want the ability to negotiate a contract with Uber and Lyft through a union so they can help set the terms of their work, including fair and transparent payment.

       The PRO act, which passed the House in March, would expand some labor protections — including penalizing employers for retaliating against workers who try to unionize — and it could allow contractors to unionize if they choose.

       While the legislation has garnered support from Democratic senators, three senate Democrats have yet to agree to co-sponsor the bill: Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va); Mark Kelly (D-Az); and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Az).

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       “Without the PRO act, drivers have no control over what companies choose to do,” said Brian Dolber, a Rideshare Drivers United organizer and Associate Professor of Communication at California State University, San Marcos. “They are completely at their whim.”