Thousands of rideshare workers in Massachusetts have signed authorization cards to join a first-of-its-kind union for Uber and Lyft drivers, and now await certification from Beacon Hill to move forward.
Workers announced the “App Drivers Union” Wednesday, a joint effort from the local chapter of Service Employees International Union and the International Association of Machinists. It comes a month after voters narrowly approved a ballot question that allows drivers to circumvent a federal law that prohibits independent contractors — sheltered from the same protections as employees — from joining a union.
Legislators on Beacon Hill plan to certify the ballot question Wednesday, said state Senator Jason Lewis. Drivers will then have to wait 30 days into January until they can formally vote on a union to improve their pay and protections.
As it stands, the ballot measure stipulates that one-fourth of “active drivers” who have completed at least the median number of rides in the last six months have to vote in favor in order to create a union. A contract would then be ratified by the majority of drivers who completed 100 trips in the most recent quarter.
“Thousands of cards, less than a month from the passage of Question 3, is a huge deal, and it’s historic,” said Roxana Rivera, assistant to the president at 32BJ SEIU and co-chair of the Yes On 3 campaign. “Together, drivers are ready to take the next step towards forming a statewide rideshare drivers’ union.”
The issue remained top of mind of dozens of drivers at a Wednesday press conference outside the McCormack Building in Beacon Hill — some of whom said the rideshare platforms continue to deactivate their accounts unexpectedly and threaten their livelihoods.
Yolanda Rodriguez, a seven-year driver from Malden, said Uber deactivated her account for five months last year in the middle of her pregnancy without warning. She could rely on her partner for income, but the bills for the car she bought for the job piled up, unpaid.
“I was not able to provide to my family, and it gave me so much anxiety,” Rodriguez said.
Published: Jan 10, 2025
