While the Seattle vote is aimed at giving drivers more of a say in their job conditions, it’s not clear how this will work in practice with Uber, Lyft and any other car-booking company.
Advertisement
Speaking at an event in Seattle earlier this year, Uber political strategist David Plouffe called the city’s proposed ordinance “puzzling” and “generally believed to be flatly illegal”, reported the website Geekwire.
Mike O’Brien, the council member who sponsored the bill, said on Monday that “we’re seeing a lot of changes that are very disruptive”. Uber has about 10,000 drivers in the Seattle area, and 400,000 nationwide.
“As a cab driver, making a living has become really hard”, a Seattle-based taxi driver wrote on a Teamsters blog supporting the bill.
Ali said that he is among the local Somali population and was unaware of the council’s consideration to allow unionization.
The Seattle law does not rule on whether drivers are employees or contractors but extends to drivers rights usually reserved for employees.
Under the new law, drivers providing a minimum threshold of trips have the option to join a “Driver Representative Organization”, through which they can negotiate wages and working conditions with their the ride-share companies.
“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”, said Murray. The plaintiffs named in the suit say they are Uber employees, not independent contractors, and have been shortchanged on expenses and tips.
But in showing that the issue isn’t as clear-cut, North Carolina, Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, and Florida have or will be enacting regulations to support Uber and Lyft’s position that drivers be designated as independent contractors. Other drivers have said they like the system the way it works now.
Uber drivers will be able to unionize in Seattle.
Last week, a US judge ruled that many more Uber drivers in California could participate in a class action against the ride service over their employment status, even if they did not opt out of an arbitration clause in their contracts. The lawsuits will focus on whether Uber controls drivers by setting fares and deciding who can work or whether drivers are in charge because they set their own schedules.
Advertisement
Supporters of the bill gathered at Seattle’s City Hall to urge councilmembers to vote on a bill that would allow them to unionize.
