The people who drive for Uber in New York City are independent contractors and not employees of the ride-hailing service, at least according to current laws. Drivers know that, but want a union-like group that would advocate for workers’ concerns with the company, even if it doesn’t engage in collective bargaining to set fares. Uber has agreed to work with a non-union, the Independent Drivers Guild, which will meet with the company and help drivers appeal when they’re “deactivated,” or fired.
The IDG was developed specifically as a group that is not a union, but it’s affiliated with the International Association of Machinists, a union that represents other livery drivers in New York City — drivers of black cars, as they’re usually called, or cars that you can hire on demand but that aren’t yellow taxis. In the past, the IAM and that has organized drivers for hire who were independent contractors.
The new agreement with Uber in New York is actually quite similar to the settlements that drivers in California and Massachusetts came to in their proposed class action settlement. Without the $100 million cash payment, of course, which is the calculated value of reimbursed vehicle expenses and tips that riders would be owed if they were employees.
Those agreements will also include a group representing drivers that will meet with Uber management, and an appeal process for drivers who have been deactivated.
Uber just agreed to let a labor union represent its drivers in New York [Recode]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
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