Rideshare, flight attendant strikes expected across the U.S. on Valentine's Day

Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Travelers could face major delays Wednesday as rideshare drivers and flight attendants are expected to mark the Valentine's Day holiday with strikes at airports across the country.

Uber, Lyft and delivery drivers across the country have pledged not to accept any rides on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at airports in Austin, Texas, Chicago, Hartford, Conn., Miami, Newark, N.J., Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, and Tampa, Fla.

"We're not taking rides to or from any airport on February 14," a statement from Justice for App Workers site reads. "We're going on strike and telling the app companies that we won't take it anymore!"

Uber told USA TODAY strikes "have rarely had any impact on trips, prices or driver availability," while Lyft said it was "constantly working to improve the driver experience."

Meanwhile, flight attendants at American, Air Wisconsin and Southwest have all voted to approve strike authorizations in the last week. On Tuesday, 99.48% of Alaska Airlines flight attendants voted to do the same.

More than 93% of the company's flight attendants participated in the vote.

"Our time is now!" AFA Alaska president Jeffrey Peterson said in a statement. "There's no excuse: Alaska management has the money to buy another airline, they certainly have the money to invest in flight attendants. We have a simple message for management: Pay us, or CHAOS!"

A CHAOS strike is an intermittent tactic last used in 1993 by the union, where participants can strike any flight at any time without notice to management or passengers.

On Tuesday, flight attendants from Alaska, Air Wisconsin, United, American, Southwest, Frontier and more started to picket outside airports.

Julie Hedrick, president of APFA representing 27,000 flight attendants at American, said flight attendants across the country are working in solidarity with each other.

"This industry doesn't fly without us," she said in a statement. "And if management wants to continue to play games, they'll learn just how true that is."