Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.
Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts are tired of being taken advantage of, and are thus diverging from the long-term trend in the USA away from worker unions. Drivers for Uber and Lyft in The Baked Bean State have decided to combine forces for better pay and conditions by unionizing, the first to do so in the United States.
The App Drivers Union just received official certification from the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations on Friday, and it already represents almost 70,000 ridesharing drivers in the state.
“It changes the game for rideshare workers across this country,” Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Democrat, said during a driver and labor activist rally in Boston yesterday.
Notably, this is not just a result of drivers coming together to cooperatively advocate for themselves. This was enabled by Massachusetts voters. “The certification occurred after voters in November 2024 approved a ballot measure that created a novel framework to allow drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft to organize and bargain collectively over pay and benefits,” Reuters reports. “That vote followed a years-long, nationwide battle over whether ride-share drivers should be considered independent contractors or employees entitled to benefits and wage protections.
