SEATTLE, Dec. 15 (UPI) — Seattle became the first U.S. city to allow drivers for smartphone-based ride companies like Uber and Lyft to unionize, a decision met with controversy.
After the unanimous 8-0 city council vote, cheers erupted from supporters holding “Driver Unity” signs, but the Mayor Ed Murray said he would not sign the bill and will likely be challenged in court.
The new ordinance would require companies to give the city a list of its local drivers. The union could then use the list to build support of the drivers to be their representative to bargain for better pay and working conditions.
The vote is a victory for the App-Based Drivers Assn. of Seattle and a set back for both Uber and Lyft. Drivers in other parts of the country have watched events in Seattle to determine how they might proceed in their cities.
Meanwhile Uber faces a class-action lawsuit in California from drivers who want to be full-time employees and not contractors.
The ordinance “threatens the privacy of drivers, imposes substantial costs on passengers and the city and conflicts with longstanding federal law,” said Lyft spokeswoman Paige Thelen after the vote.
Anti-trust law experts said the city might have violated anti-trust laws in allowing the drivers to unionize when that jurisdiction falls to the state. Independent contractor groups using collective bargaining might be considered illegal price fixing.
City councilman Tom Rasmussen said before the vote the threat of legal challenges shouldn’t stop council members from putting forth the ordinance. He said the city had been a leader before in “innovative policies,” like last year’s passing of a $15-per-hour minimum wage law, a move followed by San Francisco and Los Angeles, among other cities.
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