Contractors or Not, Seattle Uber Drivers Might Get Collective Bargaining

The Seattle Times reports on a development in Seattle that might have implications for other cities with contentious relationships with transportation coordinating services like Uber. Seattle councilman Mike O'Brien has proposed a system under which drivers for Lyft, Uber, and similar companies would be represented in collective bargaining agreements with the companies they do work for. The proposal would require taxi companies, for-hire vehicle companies and app-based ride-dispatch companies, including Uber and Lyft, to negotiate agreements with drivers on issues such as payment and working conditions. The approach would be novel because of the drivers’ employment status. The National Labor Relations Act gives employees, but not independent contractors, the right to bargain as a union. ... Under O’Brien’s plan, a nonprofit organization would need to show support from a majority of a company’s drivers to be designated by the city as their bargaining representative. The organization would use a list of drivers provided by the company.

Comments

Yep, Unions do nothing

[rsilvergun]

except for the increased wages by bringing strike pressure to bear. Oh, and they make sure you can strike without fear of reprisal and with enough food/money to survive a strike. Oh, and then there's the better benefits from the bargaining. Then there's enforcing worker safety when OSHA can't or won't. Then There's protecting workers from age discrimination. Then there's ensuring workers get trained instead of paying for their own training out of pocket.

You know, you're right. Unions have done about as much for the working man as the Romans did for those guys from Monty Python.

Re:Fun uber fact

[SeaFox]

You misspelled "all companies" and "employees" in that paragraph.