Seattle voting on bill to let Uber drivers unionize

In a unanimous 8-0 city council vote, Seattle became the first city in the U.S.to allow the unionization of employees for companies like Uber and Lyft.

“We’ve heard from Seattle drivers making sub-minimum wage, and companies like Uber have turned a deaf ear to their concerns”, O’Brien said in a statement.

What’s more, opponents have charged that allowing contractors to organize and bargain together amounts to a violation of federal anti-trust laws. But Seattle marks the first time that drivers have had sufficient initiative to fight for their right to bargain directly with these companies themselves, a moment that is as pivotal for ride-hail companies as it is for the future of the American labor movement.

“Do we want to use the law as a shield or do we want to use it as a sword?” asked new council member and civil rights lawyer Lorena González as she expressed support for the bill. Murray said he will not sign the bill but his office says it will become law without his signature.

The nonprofit organization would need to gain the support of a majority of a company’s drivers to be designated by the city as their bargaining representative. “I’m so happy for myself and for other drivers”.

Under the proposal, ride-hailing apps will be required to give lists of their drivers to driver representative organizations. Currently, these drivers are considered independent contractors and are not protected by traditional labor standards – including Seattle’s new $15 per hour minimum wage law.

Councilman Mike O’Brien, who proposed the law, said he expects Uber to sue the city to stop the measure.

While drivers and activists flooded out of City Council chambers to offer congratulations on Monday afternoon, many said that the battle was not yet over. Uber has consistently resisted that effort, underscoring the “flexibility” its service affords those who drive for the company.

During a limited public comment period, some for-hire drivers from companies like East Side For Hire said they felt left out of the process of crafting this bill and urged either a “no” vote or a delay. “Drivers say that with flexible and independent work with Uber, 50% of them drive fewer than 10 hours a week, 70% have full-time or part-time work outside of Uber and 65% choose to vary the hours they drive 25% week-to-week”.

Katie Baranyuk gets out of a vehicle driven by Dara Jenkins, a driver for the ride-sharing service Lyft, after getting a ride to downtown Seattle. A spokesperson for the company told NYT that if the ordinance passed the ruling would threaten “the privacy of drivers, impose costs on passengers”, reminding that the city law conflicts with federal law. In some places, workers formed app-based drivers associations affiliated with local unions.