BOSTON — Drivers for ride-hailing companies in Massachusetts are pushing ahead with what they describe as a first-of-its-kind ballot question that could win them union rights if approved.
The push comes despite a landmark settlement last month guaranteeing that Uber and Lyft drivers will earn a minimum pay standard of $32.50 per hour in Massachusetts.
Supporters of the measure last week delivered the final batch of signatures needed to land a spot on the November ballot.
Travelers enter a pick-up location for ride-hailing companies Tuesday in a parking garage at Logan International Airport in Boston.
April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, said the tens of thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers working in Massachusetts deserve the collective bargaining benefits of unions.
“This would be the first in the nation to establish a union for drivers in this way,” she said. The group is working on a similar effort in California.
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Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who secured the settlement — which included what she described as “an unprecedented package of minimum wage, benefits and protections” — is also backing the ballot question.
Verrett said labor laws in the country aren’t written to take into consideration gig workers, something the ballot question would begin to remedy in Massachusetts if voters support the question — 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 coworkers to have a say in their livelihood.”
Yolanda Rodriguez has driven for Lyft for about six years and says she’s convinced that having union rights would benefit her and other drivers.
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