Seattle council allows Uber drivers to join a union

The council is scheduled to vote on whether to allow drivers for ride-hailing companies such as Uber to form unions and collectively bargain for better pay.

“Since my concerns were not adequately addressed in this legislation, I will not sign this bill”, Murray said.

It also reported that Uber is being sued by cities such as Seattle for categorising its drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees.

Officials with the third, much smaller company, Dallas-based Get Me, say they have no problem with the fingerprint-based criminal background checks the council is contemplating.

The move – a first in the United States – is a setback for the companies, which have sought to avoid regulations that apply to traditional taxi services. By clearing drivers to unionize, Seattle is attempting to create a present-day solution to thorny employment questions that might not be resolved for a very long time.

Companies like Uber typically classify their drivers as independent contractors.

That’s where Seattle’s city council has stepped in.

“A driver could be logged onto the Uber platform and another, and another, and I wouldn’t have full visibility of that so at the end of the day they are responsible for the transport they’re providing”, he said. Add in the applicants being processed for approval, and Get Me expects to have a stable of 300 drivers shortly, he said.

“I remain concerned that this ordinance, as passed by the Council, includes several flaws, especially related to the relatively unknown costs of administering the collective bargaining process and the burden of significant rulemaking the Council has placed on City staff”, Murray said.

“My intent is to make sure that the people, the drivers, the workers in our community continue to have access to good wage jobs”, Councilmember Mike O’Brien said. It does not mean, however, that they will be considered employees – the bill refers to the workers as independent contractors.

# 4 Tipping feature in the app. Come on Uber – Lyft has figured this out!

“We can deal with those”, said Licata, who co-sponsored the bill with O’Brien. “We work fairly”, said Mohamed Ali through an interpreter.

Upon passing the measure, the council also acknowledged that there may be legal challenges to the decision, but noted the city is prepared to defend it in court.

Prior to the vote, a representative for Seattle’s teamsters Local 117 Dawn Gearheart told NYT that the current system is “really attractive” for employers in this case, but “that doesn’t mean that all the rights workers have fought for over the past century should go out the window”.

A spokesman from Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“They’re not employees, they don’t have to set their schedule or ask for hours; they set their own schedule around whatever is going on in their life”, he said. Lyft drivers are entirely in control of where or when they work, and this flexibility is exactly why the service is so popular with with people looking to make extra income.