California's Gig Drivers Just Secured Collective Bargaining Power with Newly Certified Union
SUMMARYCalifornia’s Public Employment Relations Board certified the California Gig Workers Union to represent Uber and Lyft drivers, giving them a formal collective bargaining role. The union, backed by the Service Employees International Union, will seek a contract over pay transparency, health insurance, and high fuel costs under Assembly Bill 1340. California becomes the third state to allow ride-hailing drivers to unionize, following Washington and Massachusetts.
A union representing Uber and Lyft drivers was just certified by California's Public Employment Relations Board, officially recognizing them as the drivers' bargaining organization.
The Sacramento Bee reports that this new bargaining structure :
The move will allow the California Gig Workers Union to help drivers negotiate issues affecting working conditions and benefits. It comes as at least 30% of active drivers expressed support of the union... [California] Assembly Bill 1340 helped bring the union to fruition by allowing the independent contractor drivers to engage in collective bargaining.
"The next step for the union is to negotiate a contract with Uber and Lyft that meets drivers' demands," reports the Los Angeles Times, "including health insurance, support for high gas prices and more transparency around pay:
California is the third state to allow ride-hailing drivers to unionize, following Washington in 2022 and Massachusetts in 2024...
The California Gig Workers Union was formed with the support of the Service Employees International Union... "Gig drivers shouldn't have to face the future alone," said SEIU 521 official Riko Mendez in a statement. "As autonomous vehicles rapidly expand, having a union gives the drivers the power to negotiate for fair pay and meaningful say in how new technology shapes their work and our communities' futures."