Rideshare drivers urge lawmakers to let them unionize
On Tuesday, rideshare drivers in Minnesota arrived at the Capitol urging lawmakers to pass a bill to allow them to unionize.
Three months ago, rideshare drivers saw a new law take effect, setting pay regulations for Uber and Lyft. The law required drivers to make a minimum of $1.28 per mile and 31 cents per minute while ridesharing.
Last year, when the bill was passed, drivers said it was a step in the right direction, but more would need to be done, and it appears a new bill is looking to do just that.
A new proposed bill authored by Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis, and Rep. Samakab Hussein, DFL-St. Paul, would allow drivers the right to vote on whether to form a union in Minnesota.
According to a press release from SEIU Local 26, a property service union in Minnesota, pay issues and working conditions have continued to plague drivers, requiring a “permanent solution” to the issue.
Forming a union, they argue, would allow them to form a union like most other workers and allow them to better negotiate with rideshare companies.
In a statement, Uber pushed back on the unionization push.
“Over the last few years, drivers, rideshare companies, and legislators worked collaboratively on addressing what drivers themselves established as their own priorities,” Uber spokesman Freddi Goldstein said. “It is not constructive to have late-to-the-game parties show up to risk what’s been achieved to advance their own interests.”