California ride-hailing drivers cleared a major hurdle this week in their yearslong push for collective bargaining rights, announcing the formation of a new union that organizers say will become the largest of its kind in the world for Uber and Lyft drivers.
The announcement, made Tuesday, follows a state law passed last year that granted California drivers the right to unionize — a significant shift for workers who have long been classified as independent contractors rather than employees, a distinction that typically excludes them from collective bargaining protections.
The Public Employment Relations Board confirmed last week that the newly formed California Gig Workers Union had gathered signatures from at least 30% of the state’s active ride-hailing drivers, meeting the threshold required to represent drivers statewide. California becomes only the second state, after Massachusetts, to allow such organizing, and Illinois passed similar legislation just last week.
Drivers and leaders from the Service Employees International Union gathered at a press conference in Los Angeles to mark the milestone, laying out plans to eventually negotiate over longstanding driver grievances — including sudden deactivation from the apps, stagnant pay, and the opaque algorithms that dictate how much work drivers receive and how much they earn.
Vikaas Shanker, a Fresno-based driver who has emerged as a leader in the new union, described the isolating nature of gig work under the current system. “Uber and Lyft systems silo and separate us drivers from each other,” he said. “As we’ve been engaging in conversations with drivers all across the state … I’ve realized that I’m not on my own in my struggles.”
According to Riko Mendez, chief elected officer of SEIU Local 521 in San José, California is home to roughly 350,000 ride-hailing drivers. Mendez told CalMatters that union organizers have spent recent months preparing members for the bargaining table and hope to sit down with Uber and Lyft before the end of the year.
The formation of the union marks a watershed moment in a yearslong labor fight that has played out largely through ballot measures, court battles and legislative maneuvering, as gig companies have fiercely resisted efforts to reclassify or empower their driver workforce. Whether the union can translate its new legal standing into concrete gains for drivers — particularly around pay transparency and app-based terminations — will likely become clear as bargaining sessions get underway in the coming months.
Original source: CalMatters
