Massachusetts ballot question would give Uber and Lyft drivers right to form a union

BOSTON — Massachusetts taxi company drivers are pushing ahead with what they describe as a unique ballot question that could give them union rights if approved.

The push comes despite a striking settlement Last month, Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts were guaranteed a minimum wage of $32.50 an hour.

Supporters of the measure last week turned in the final signatures needed to secure a spot on the November ballot.

April Verritt, president of the Service Employees International Union, said the tens of thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers working in Massachusetts deserve collective bargaining rights through unions.

“This would be the first time in the country that a union for drivers has been formed in this way,” she said. The group is working on a similar effort in California.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who secured the settlement — which she said included “an unprecedented package of minimum wage, benefits and protections” — is also backing the ballot question.

“It’s a strong foundation that can and should be built upon,” Campbell, a Democrat, said of the bill.

Verritt said the country’s labor laws aren’t designed to accommodate gig workers, something the Massachusetts vote could remedy if voters support the issue — and drivers ultimately form a union.

“We fundamentally believe that workers are workers,” she said. “All workers deserve a union, a way to come together with their fellow workers to have a say in their livelihood.”

Yolanda Rodriguez has been driving for Lyft for about six years and says she believes union rights would benefit her and other drivers.

The 33-year-old mother of three lives in Malden, just outside Boston. She says she starts work most days around 3 a.m., often driving people to Logan International Airport.

Rodriguez said her account was canceled about a year ago when she was pregnant. She said she was gone for five months before it was reinstated and she was able to generate income again.

“I don’t want that to happen to other women or men, because often children are behind the cancellations,” she said through an interpreter. “If I had a union, I could turn to them and work with them.”

Lyft announced a policy earlier this year stating that its goal is to make drivers feel supported and respected when a temporary hold is placed on a driver’s account during an investigation. This includes a streamlined in-app button that allows drivers to appeal deactivation decisions.

But not everyone thinks the question goes far enough, if they support it at all.

Henry De Groot, 28, of Boston, has been driving for both companies on and off for five years, but he says the ballot measure issue isn’t a fair deal.

“I am 100 percent pro-union and 100 percent against the ballot question,” he said.

De Groot said the demand does not create a democratic system in which all drivers have rights. He said there are no rights included in the initiative beyond basic collective bargaining, including details of how contributions are spent.

“You can’t have a regular union and not give workers the right to vote,” he said. “There’s no control of the driver over the leadership. It’s about the basic democratic rights that other unions have. It’s a top-down organization.”

Kelly Cobb-Lemire, an organizer with Massachusetts Drivers United, an organization she describes as a driver-driven, grassroots campaign, said other workers who use the app, including delivery drivers, are being left out of the vote.

“We are fighting for both drivers and delivery workers to have the right to unionize and be classified as employees,” she said. “We support democratic collective bargaining where every driver has a voice.”

She said her group is instead pushing lawmakers to pass a bill that would establish full worker rights for all app workers and include a path to unionization for all. She said the legislation would also require drivers and delivery workers to be paid at least the Massachusetts minimum wage for all time worked.

If the ballot question is approved, “active drivers” will be defined as those who have made more than the average number of trips in the previous six months.

Once a union has registered 5% of active directors in a bargaining unit, it will be given a list of all eligible employees. Any other union without an election will then be excluded from recognition.

If a union then secures 25% of eligible voters for a bargaining unit, it becomes the certified bargaining representative, unless another union or a “non-union” group comes forward within the next seven days with signed cards from at least 25% of eligible voters. At that point, an election is held.

Proponents of the question had been preparing for a possible series of industry-backed ballot questions aimed at classifying drivers as self-employed entrepreneurs.

But that threat evaporated after the settlement, which prohibited the companies from supporting all five proposed variations of their ballot question, meaning they will not go to a vote.

Lyft said in a statement following the settlement announcement that the deal resolves a lawsuit that recently went to trial and eliminates the need for the November referendum campaign.

Uber also released a statement at the time describing the agreement as “an example of what independent, flexible, and dignified work should look like in the 21st century.”

Under the agreement, drivers will receive one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year.

The two companies must also pay a combined $175 million to the state to resolve allegations that the companies violated Massachusetts wage and hour laws. The majority of the money will be paid to current and former drivers.