California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have brokered a deal with Uber and Lyft, granting rideshare drivers the right to unionize while preserving their status as independent contractors.
The agreement, finalized on Aug. 31, pairs AB 1340, a labor-backed measure allowing over 800,000 drivers to form unions and negotiate wages, with SB 371, a company-favored cut to insurance mandates that slices coverage from $1 million to $60,000 per person and $300,000 per accident.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the labor union that sponsored AB 1340, championed the deal.
“Gig workers have been fighting, organizing, and advocating for years, because for too long, the industry’s giants have handed workers a raw deal: you do all the work and take all the risks, while corporations make all the decisions and reap the lion’s share of the rewards. That stops with AB 1340,” said Tia Orr, executive director of labor organization SEIU California, in a statement on Aug. 29….