by Irina Park
Ride-share drivers in Massachusetts have been approved to unionize through a first-of-its-kind, state-wide ballot measure. Massachusetts is the first U.S. state to allow ride-share drivers for apps like Lyft and Uber to form unions while still being classified as independent contractors. Question 3 on the Massachusetts ballot, which passed 54 percent to 46 percent, was also controversial among labor advocates who saw it as a setback to efforts to classify rideshare drivers as employees, which would give them standard protections and benefits that businesses are required to provide employees and allow them to organize under the National Labor Relations Act.
The ballot measure leaves many issues unresolved for drivers. Rideshare apps utilizing algorithms do not allow drivers any control over pricing—a restriction imposed by Uber and Lyft, who have been accused of vertical price fixing and monopolistic tactics by drivers and advocacy groups. Deactivation is another common issue that remains internally managed with no independent oversight, and many rideshare workers have gone on strike because of unfounded account deactivations and lockouts. Lockouts are a loophole for apps like Uber and Lyft, who are required to pay drivers a minimum wage based on the amount of time they are working, to take the workers offline, not having to pay them for the time they are between rides and “offline”. In October, over 1,000 drivers in New York City for Uber and Lyft participated in a blockade of traffic along 11th avenue from 30th street to 48th street honking their horns and fighting to end unfair account deactivations and lockouts, according to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
The measure was introduced by the Service Employees International Union, who had spearheaded the campaign, and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and would create a process for drivers to report unfair work practices but does not mention strike protections or extend to food delivery drivers. Question 3 was also backed by Massachusetts’ attorney general Andrea Campbell, who, in June, reached a settlement with Uber and Lyft requiring the companies to adopt a $32.50 hourly minimum wage and pay $175 million to resolve previous claims they treated drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. This settlement did not result in declaring drivers as employees, however, and the $32.50 minimum wage and settlement still leave many drivers earning below a livable wage after expenses.
The Massachusetts vote is the latest movement in the ongoing battle over whether drivers should be considered employees entitled to benefits and wage protections or independent contractions. Using contractors costs monopolies 30% less than classifying them as employees, heightening exploitation.
Uber and Lyft did not campaign against Question 3 but have responded differently under other circumstances. In March, Uber and Lyft threatened to stop operating in Minneapolis after an ordinance requiring higher pay for drivers was to be implemented. Minneapolis City Council voted to delay this implementation because of Uber and Lyft’s threats. In May, after delay and compromise, this bill was passed, but at a lower pay rate than approved in March.
Rideshare drivers continue to fight for their demands across the country. In September, Uber and Lyft drivers staged a strike at the Nashville International Airport, filling the airport’s rideshare lot but refusing to accept rides, aiming to cripple Nashville’s tourism industry over the Labor Day weekend. Earlier this year, on Valentine’s Day, in one of the largest “gig-worker” strikes ever in the U.S., thousands of drivers and delivery service workers across the United States went on strike on one of the busiest days of the year against gig economy giants like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash, demanding a living wage and transparency over pay.
