Massachusetts votes to let rideshare drivers unionize
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Massachusetts voted to give rideshare drivers the option to unionize, according to the Associated Press. It's the first state to approve such a measure.
Why it matters: Contractors who have long complained of declining wages and rising expenses as the rideshare companies’ profits increase will get a chance at negotiating.
- Customers, meanwhile, will find out if rideshare companies are serious about passing the costs of collective bargaining onto them.
Driving the news: The measure passed with 54% of the vote, according to AP.
Context: This ballot measure is separate from the drivers’ campaign to be classified as employees with benefits, as opposed to independent contractors.
What they're saying: Manny Pastreich, president of SEIU Local 32BJ, called the victory "an historic moment for the 70,000 drivers in Massachusetts."
- He said he sees it as a sign that rideshare drivers nationwide could someday organize as well.
What we're watching: How and when rideshare companies will respond to the results.
- Any challenge is likely to materialize sooner than legislative action.
- When Seattle approved a similar measure in 2015, it was immediately challenged in the courts and struck down.
Zoom in: It could be years before rideshare drivers start unionizing and negotiating with their employers, even if the ballot measure isn't challenged in court.
- The legislature has to set up the state system that would oversee unionization and bargaining.
- Lawmakers are notoriously slow in implementing ballot measures.
- Even after that’s implemented, the more active drivers will need to determine whether to start a union and later whether to vote on a contract, as well as get approval from the state labor secretary.
The big picture: Massachusetts is the first state to authorize rideshare drivers to unionize and negotiate with their employers through what's known as sector-based bargaining.
- The practice involves a union representing workers from multiple employers in a particular industry negotiating on their behalf over wages, benefits, and working conditions.
- It's common in other parts of the world.