Tuesday, April 8, California rideshare drivers’ decade-long fight to improve their working conditions and shape their industry reached a huge milestone. Hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers rallied at the state capitol to announce the introduction of legislation that opens the door for gig drivers to join a union.

Over 600,000 drivers in California currently have no ability to improve their pay and working conditions as a result of the gig corporations’ Prop 22. AB 1340, authored by Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), would finally allow drivers to form a union and negotiate contracts with Uber and Lyft.  

The bill would empower rideshare drivers with the right to organize for better working conditions and establish a process for gig drivers to choose their union. It would protect workers from retaliation when they join together to organize and provide a process for drivers to bargain with the industry for better pay, working conditions, and price transparency for riders. 

“At the start, being a rideshare driver was great: flexible hours, decent pay, and opportunities for bonuses,” Nick Calabar, Jr., who has been a rideshare driver for nine years. “But as many of the rideshare drivers here will agree, it’s been a struggle, and we’re barely getting by. Just last week, I picked up a passenger in South Sacramento to bring them to the airport. The passenger told me he was paying $60 for the ride, but Lyft was only paying me $14. Rideshare drivers need a union so we can bargain for our fair share and to be treated better on the job.” 

The energy of the drivers organizing movement was on full display as they gathered in the hundreds at the State Capitol today. Giant letters spelled out UNION across the Capitol lawn, and drivers waved signs declaring “CA Drives Progress,” “Yes on AB 1340,” and “Gig Drivers Union NOW!”  

“All work has dignity, and every worker deserves a voice — especially in these uncertain times,” said Asm. Buffy Wicks. “AB 1340 empowers drivers with the choice to join a union and negotiate for better wages, benefits, and protections. When workers stand together, they are one of the most powerful forces for justice in California.”

The drivers’ announcement comes as more Californians are turning to gig work and even more are turning to Uber and Lyft as a means for transportation.  

For over a decade, rideshare drivers in California and across the nation have battled an industry bent on keeping worker power fractured through an independent contractor model. In 2022, rideshare companies spent more than $200 million to pass a special exemption from California law and keep drivers classified as independent contractors.

The California Court of Appeals struck down the part of Prop 22 that would require a 7/8 majority vote in the state legislature for drivers to organize a union. The court’s decision opened the door for the state legislature to pass a law authorizing gig drivers’ ability to join together in a union and collectively bargain for better pay, benefits, and protections while enabling drivers to maintain their independence.   

Meanwhile, the rideshare companies’ Prop. 22 has left gig workers in poverty and stripped drivers of basic protections, from workers compensation to paid sick days. Drivers feel exploited as the companies take more of riders’ fares, and the companies don’t make it easy for riders or drivers to understand where the fares go.  

Drivers rallying said having the right to form a union means having the opportunity to transform their lives and their industry, being able to bargain for higher wages and better jobs, and safety for themselves and their passengers. A union formed under AB 1340 would have the power to sit down with corporations like Uber and Lyft to address:   

• Wage theft from drivers’ pay, including pocketing drivers’ tips.
• “Robo-firings” in which drivers are deactivated by algorithm, without recourse or a meaningful way to regain their livelihoods.
• Uber and Lyft’s pricing practices, where riders are paying higher prices but that doesn’t translate into higher pay for drivers.

Asm. Marc Berman said, “With AB 1340, we are putting power in the hands of hundreds of thousands of workers to raise the bar in their industry and create a model for an equitable and innovative partnership in the tech sector. This is only right, as gig drivers are literally driving this part of our economy. With the strength of a union, workers can build a fair and sustainable gig economy that works for everyone – not just the gig corporations.” 

“Across the country, from California to Minnesota, Illinois, and Massachusetts, rideshare drivers are working with state legislators to shape new laws that make worker organizing easier and union jobs available to everyone fueling the nation’s growing rideshare industry,” said SEIU International President April Verrett. “Drivers understand that through a union, they can not only maintain flexibility and control over their jobs, they will be able to improve their pay, lift up their families and, finally, hold an industry that has long exploited them accountable.” 

Drivers’ demand for a stronger voice is undeniable, with SEIU California announcing today that 40,000 of them have signed cards expressing interest in joining SEIU – California Gig Workers Union.  

Yvonne Wheeler, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, said, “Faced with the most anti-worker White House in our lifetimes, our labor movement is more determined and united than ever before. Coming off a groundbreaking organizing win for drivers in Massachusetts, gig workers’ momentum is powerful and growing. With California’s labor movement united behind drivers’ demand for the choice to form their union, we’re well on our way to growing the union strength needed to deliver what working people demand: fair wages, safe working conditions, and the opportunity to create a better life for our kids.”  

 AB 1340 is expected to be heard in committee in the coming weeks.

Read more in the Los Angeles Times here.