In 2015, the Seattle City Council passed a law that would give collective bargaining rights to Uber and Lyft drivers. Those drivers who were active in our Union's organizing efforts at the time remember a very contentious fight to get the law passed.

As soon as the law passed, Uber and Lyft, together with the Chamber of Commerce, filed a lawsuit to block the law from going into effect, denying drivers the right to bargain. That legal battle has raged on for years now with a lot of twists and turns. At one point, the City removed from the law the right to negotiate over compensation.

This past week, the Chamber dismissed their lawsuit “without prejudice.”  That means they can refile it again whenever they choose to and would likely do so if the City attempted to put the law into use, delaying it again.

Your Union has not been waiting for an outcome to the legal fight to do something about compensation while the City and the Chamber battled this out in the courts. We moved ahead with the Fare Share Plan to enact first-in-the-nation protections against unfair deactivation, set a living wage floor for drivers in the industry, and establish a worker organization that would provide representation for drivers as well as other benefits. 

The first part of the Fare Share Plan passed last year.  We will continue to fight to implement the law, raise driver pay, and bring new levels of protections and representation to the driver community through the Drivers Union affiliated with Teamsters 117.

Because of drivers taking action and aggressive advocacy from your Union, we are one step closer to securing urgently needed emergency relief for Uber, Lyft, and Taxi drivers. 

Yesterday afternoon, Governor Inslee announced:

1. A statewide 30-day moratorium on residential evictions; and
2. An effort to call on the White House and Congress to declare a disaster in Washington, authorizing Disaster Unemployment Assistance for Uber, Lyft, and Taxi drivers and others who may not normally be eligible for unemployment benefits.

We are one step closer to securing emergency relief. But, it’s not guaranteed. We have to fight so drivers don’t fall through the cracks.

Right now, I’m asking you to do three things:

1. Call Congress at (202) 224-3121. Tell them “Provide Disaster Unemployment Assistance for Uber, Lyft, and Taxi drivers NOW!”
2. Uber & Lyft Drifers: Apply for unemployment. Apply here (computer or laptop). Don’t give up if you receive an initial automated-rejection. Start filing weekly claims (even if you’ve been initially rejected), and be prepared to provide documentation of your hours of work and pay. You want your account to already be set up so there aren’t delays if funds become available. Click here to receive application instructions and information on free legal support. 
3. Get additional resources. Your Union has compiled this COVID-19 Emergency Resource Guide, including information on where to go for food assistance, what to do if you can’t pay your rent or mortgage, Teamsters job openings, and other resources.

We know this is a very stressful time for drivers. We will continue to fight for the support drivers need, and update you with the latest resources available.

Teamsters Local 117 has achieved a significant victory in the fight to bring workers in the gig economy a voice on the job. The Seattle-based Local led the way in helping to pass a new law this November that will institute a first-ever grievance procedure for the City’s more than 30,000 Uber and Lyft drivers.

This groundbreaking legislation establishes first-in-the-nation legal protections and representation for drivers who seek to contest unwarranted deactivations in termination proceedings. The law also establishes a Driver Resolution Center to provide a wide range of support services to drivers.

“No longer will Uber and Lyft be the judge, jury, and prosecutor,” said John Scearcy, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 117. “Now drivers will have the right to protect their jobs with representation through a fair and impartial process.”

Under the new law, the City will commission an independent study with driver input to determine minimum pay standards for drivers that aligns with Seattle’s minimum wage and accounts for expenses and benefits. A similar process in New York has led to significant increases in pay for drivers. The study will be used to set a compensation floor that will hold Uber and Lyft to the same minimum pay standards as other large employers in Seattle - $16.39 per hour starting in 2020, after expenses. Since it is a pay floor, drivers will have the ability to earn above the City’s established minimum wage.

“I support my family with this job,” says Sukchain Banwait, a long-time Uber and Lyft driver. “We pay for the car, we pay for the gas, we pay for the maintenance, and we pay for the depreciation. We work long hours, and we deserve to get paid fairly.”

"This is a historic step forward in our fight for fair pay and labor protections for Uber and Lyft drivers."

Over the last five years, Teamsters Local 117 has worked to improve conditions in Seattle’s ride-hail industry. In 2015, Local 117 spearheaded efforts to pass a law granting collective bargaining rights for Uber and Lyft drivers. Since then, the ride-hail giants have tied up that legislation in the courts with litigation intended to strip away those rights from drivers. In helping to pass the new law, Local 117 worked to build a coalition of over 60 housing, transit, labor, environmental, health, and social justice organizations.

“This is a historic step forward in our fight for fair pay and labor protections for Uber and Lyft drivers,” Secretary-Treasurer Scearcy said. “Drivers provide critical transportation services to our community. They must be granted a measure of job security and they must be paid a living wage. This legislation strengthens our community, gives drivers a voice, and helps transform our labor movement by establishing groundbreaking rights for workers in the gig economy.”  

Mayor Jenny Durkan after a meeting with Uber and Lyft Drivers.

Seattle Uber and Lyft drivers celebrated the passage of Mayor Jenny Durkan’s ‘Fare Share’ plan by the City Council today, calling it a historic victory that will provide long-sought labor protections and lead to higher pay for the City’s 30,000 ride-hail drivers.

This groundbreaking legislation establishes first-in-the-nation legal protections against unwarranted deactivations. The legislation will also establish a Driver Resolution Center to provide a wide range of support services to drivers.

“After I was hit by an uninsured motorist, Uber shut off my app. Uber calls it deactivation, I call it getting fired for no reason,” says Bob Gulbranson, who has driven for Uber for several years. “This legislation gives drivers a voice and a chance to be treated fairly.”

In addition to creating a grievance process and funding a worker organization for drivers, the legislation mandates that all drivers be paid no less than Seattle’s minimum wage after expenses by July 1, 2020. The City will commission an independent wage study with driver input to determine appropriate pay for drivers based on hours worked, expenses incurred, and benefits.

At today’s City Council budget hearing, drivers said they were eager to participate in the study to help develop a fair pay standard so that they can finally earn a living wage after expenses and stop the race-to-the-bottom in Seattle’s ride-hail industry.

“I support my family with this job,” says Sukchain Banwait, a long-time Uber and Lyft driver. “We pay for the car, we pay for the gas, we pay for the maintenance, and we pay for the depreciation. We work long hours, and we deserve to get paid fairly.”

The legislation is funded through a 51-cent tax on trips by ride-hail giants Uber and Lyft. Proceeds from the fee will also support community investments in affordable housing and transit improvements so that drivers and other working families in Seattle have a greater opportunity to live closer to where they work.

Teamsters Local 117 has worked with the App-Based Drivers Association to improve conditions for drivers in Seattle’s ride-hail industry. Both organizations are members of a Fare Share coalition of over 60 housing, transit, labor, environmental, health, and social justice groups that have come together to support the legislation and to make sure Seattle’s growth works for everyone.

At a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday, Uber and Lyft drivers urged the Seattle City Council to support their ‘Fare Share’ priorities to establish a minimum pay standard with driver input, combat unwarranted deactivations, and fund driver support services and other community investments through a 51 cent tax on the ride-hail giants.

At the event, drivers shared stories of how declining pay, a lack of basic labor protections, and sudden deactivation without recourse has impacted their livelihoods.  

“Since I started driving for Uber, my pay has been cut in half," said Sukhchain Banwait who started driving for Uber in 2013. "But while driver pay has gone down, Uber charges my customers more and more and pockets the difference. I'm glad the City is looking at establishing a fair minimum pay standard to stop the race to the bottom in driver pay." 

"I'm glad the City is looking at establishing a fair minimum pay standard to stop the race to the bottom in driver pay."

According to the Federal Reserve, 58% of gig economy workers cannot afford a $400 emergency expense. This means that thousands of drivers in Seattle are one vehicle repair away from an economic crisis. Drivers are especially vulnerable when they can be wrongly terminated by Uber and Lyft without recourse.

“Many drivers are suffering from unfair deactivations, leaving us with expensive car payments but without income to support our families,” said Mohamed Aria, one of the first Uber drivers in Seattle.  “Drivers are the ones who built this business, and we deserve to be treated fairly.”

Speaking in support of the drivers’ priorities, City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda highlighted the need for an impartial process for drivers to appeal unfair deactivations. “I’ve heard from countless drivers who have been unjustly deactivated,” Councilmember Mosqueda said. "When you have a job, particularly a job that requires tens of thousands of dollars of investment, asking for a fair process for adjudicating deactivations is a necessary first step.”

Seattle Uber and Lyft drivers responded favorably to a proposal put forth by Mayor Jenny Durkan today to raise driver pay and allow drivers to appeal unwarranted deactivations. The Mayor’s plan would engage the driver community in developing a fair pay standard. It would also give drivers who have been terminated from a TNC platform access to a hearing with representation before an appeals panel.

“Drivers should not be fired by an algorithm without recourse,” said Mohamed Aria, who was one of the first Uber drivers in the Seattle market. “I helped Uber build their business, even referring my own customers. But after 6 years of high ratings and maximum customer satisfaction, I was deactivated without reason. It has been a year now since I lost the ability to work and support my family. The Uber staff at the local office have no answers. I applaud the Mayor for putting labor standards for drivers – including accountability and the right to appeal unfair deactivations – back on the city’s agenda.”

Mayor Durkan announced the proposal at a press conference at the Yesler Community Center on Thursday along with a plan to implement a fee on all TNC trips in the city. Revenue from the proposed fee would fund investments in driver support services, and community investments in affordable housing and transit improvements.

"We’re not going to stop organizing until we earn a living wage."

“All Uber and Lyft drivers in Seattle: we are here today, seeing progress, because drivers have been organizing and fighting back,” said Peter Kuel, a Lyft driver for over 5 years and steering committee member of the App-Based Drivers Association, which is affiliated with Teamsters 117. “As drivers, we bear all of the expenses of operation and all of the risks on the road, and we’re not going to stop organizing until we earn a living wage.”

According to the Federal Reserve, 58% of gig economy workers cannot afford a $400 emergency expense. This means that thousands of drivers in Seattle are one vehicle repair away from an economic crisis. Seattle’s more than 30,000 Uber and Lyft drivers – many of whom are immigrants and people of color for whom driving is their only source of income – lack minimum wage protections or paid sick leave and other worker benefits.

“Uber and Lyft drivers in Seattle provide important transportation services to our community and should earn a living wage,” said John Scearcy, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters 117. “Drivers are looking forward to participating in a wage study to provide real data to study leaders so that drivers are compensated for their expenses, can afford benefits, and are paid fairly.”

Today, Uber drivers leafleted outside of Uber’s Seattle office, and at more than a dozen other driver gathering spots, to generate calls to Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan calling on her office to immediately introduce legislation to raise driver pay and establish labor protections.  

The leafleting actions come on the heels of Uber releasing a proposal to impose a $3.80 congestion toll on all Seattle commuters.  Drivers say the company’s $3.80 congestion toll plan is nothing more than an attempt to cause delay and avoid regulations that would raise driver pay and fund benefits.

"Instead of focusing on congestion tolls, Uber needs to do right by their drivers first..."

“Instead of focusing on congestion tolls, Uber needs to do right by their drivers first,” said Peter Kuel, an Uber and Lyft driver for more than 5 years and a leadership council member of the App-Based Drivers Association.  “Uber and Lyft should do today what every other business in Seattle already does – ensure drivers earn benefits like paid sick days and are never paid less than minimum wage after expenses.”

Uber and Lyft drivers speak out for fair pay and a voice before their caravan embarks for City Hall.

Ride hail drivers took their vehicles on a slow procession through Seattle neighborhoods today to call for better working conditions at Uber and Lyft. Drivers ended their caravan at Seattle City Hall where they delivered their demands to City officials for fair pay, a due process to appeal deactivations, and a voice.

SEE PHOTOS FROM DRIVER CARAVAN

“We are tired of seeing Uber and Lyft siphon off bigger and bigger percentages of what riders pay,” said Fasil Teka, an Uber driver of 7 years. “It’s time for the City to ensure that drivers have the same rights as all workers in Seattle.”  

"It’s time for the City to ensure that drivers have the same rights as all workers in Seattle."

Embarking from the Masjid al-Taqwa mosque in Seattle’s Central District, drivers honked their horns and displayed signs on their vehicles that read, “Share the fare!” and “Uber and Lyft: Listen to your drivers!” The caravan wove through the heart of the city, from the Central District to Capitol Hill and downtown Seattle, neighborhoods with some of the greatest concentrations of ride hail customers. 

“We are asking our customers to stand with us in our effort to win fair pay and a voice,” said Lyft driver, Mohamed Sharif. “When drivers are paid a living wage and can stand together to improve driver and passenger safety, our local economy and the entire community benefits.”

Uber and Lyft drivers will caravan together through Seattle neighborhoods to City Hall on Thursday to demand fair pay, a due process to appeal deactivations, and a voice. The Driver Caravan will embark from the Masjid al-Taqwa mosque in Seattle’s Central District on Thursday, May 30 at 11:15 a.m. and weave through Capitol Hill and downtown Seattle.