Seattle City Council Votes Unanimously To Allow Unionization For Uber Drivers

Seattle’s governing body yesterday voted to allow drivers of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft to unionize over pay and working conditions. Seattle will certify the unions and after being verified, the so-called Driver Representative Organization will be able to engage in collective bargaining with companies like Uber and Lyft.

Companies that hire or contract drivers must now bargain with their drivers if a majority shows they want representation.

One goes to the heart of the drivers’ battle over their status as workers: If they are independent contractors but set a collective ride rate, they may be violating federal antitrust laws that prohibit price setting.

Uber said about half its drivers work fewer than 10 hours a week, and there is such a high turnover of drivers that designating them as employees or allowing them to unionize doesn’t make sense. “We have more leverage than ever before, so this is just the beginning”, Teka said.

The drivers supporting the bill call themselves the App-Based Drivers Association or the Teamsters TNC. But it extends unionization rights to drivers and encourages labor organizations to represent them.

“It’s clear the nature of work has shifted in part because of technology and in part because there are corporations that don’t like labour protections”, Mike O’Brien, the councilman who introduced the bill, told the New York Times.

“Massive corporations such as Uber, Lyft, FedEx and others exploit loopholes around independent contractors to try and prevent workers from unionizing”. Selfishly, the availability of reliable drivers and both the hailing and payment mechanisms works great for me and many others.

While the Seattle ruling does not technically classify Uber drivers as employees, it does give them more rights than freelancers.

The council was to vote on the legislation after testimony from drivers for the services and other interested parties.

Spectators stood to applaud and chant “we won” immediately after the 8-0 vote was taken.

What exactly the company sees as illegal here will likely play out in the courts, where Uber and Lyft are expected to challenge the new city ordinance. Rival Uber simply stressed that its drivers appreciate the flexibility that comes with driver for an on-demand ride-hailing platform.

“The only way we can achieve what we deserve as a driver is by working together”, he said.