Ride-hailing drivers in Massachusetts won the right to unionize on Wednesday through a statewide ballot initiative, a first-of-its-kind victory that could set a precedent for gig worker legislation across the country.
The initiative passed 54 percent to 46 percent, and will give drivers for apps like Uber and Lyft the ability to form unions that have collective bargaining power — while still being classified as independent contractors.
The ballot measure was contentious among labor advocates, many of whom opposed it as a setback in the larger movement to reclassify ride-hailing drivers as employees who would, by default, be protected by the National Labor Relations Act.
The initiative, brought by the Service Employees International Union and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, will create a hearing process for drivers to bring complaints about unfair work practices in front of a state board. But it does not contain language about strike protections.
“In rhetoric, it’s a victory,” said Katie Wells, a senior fellow at Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive nonprofit. “But is it a material victory that will actually change the power imbalance and the ability of these workers to survive an exploitative and predatory economy? Probably not.”
The practice is known as sectoral bargaining, where workers unionize as an industry, in this case as ride-hailing drivers, and not as workers for a specific company. The measure does not include protections for food-delivery drivers.
