54°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast
Follow our weather team on social media

Seattle to decide whether to let Uber, Lyft drivers unionize

7 years 3 months 2 weeks ago Sunday, December 13 2015 Dec 13, 2015 December 13, 2015 1:51 PM December 13, 2015 in News
Source: Associated Press
By: Phuong Le

SEATTLE - Seattle may soon become the first city to let drivers of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft collectively bargain over pay and working conditions, a move opposed by the companies and one seen as a test case for the changing 21st century workforce.

The city council is to vote Monday on whether to extend collective bargaining rights for drivers of taxis, for-hire transportation companies and app-based ride-hailing services that are part of the growing on-demand economy.

Councilmember Mike O'Brien says for-hire drivers as independent contractors are excluded from such protections so he wants give them a say in their working conditions. Independent contractors aren't covered by the National Labor Relations Act, which allows for collective bargaining.

San Francisco-based Uber and others say federal labor law prevents cities from regulating collective bargaining for independent contractors, and the ordinance would violate federal antitrust laws

More News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days