Warren joins fight over ride hail ballot question
Says companies need to comply with state labor laws
Joining a heated political fight that could decide pay and benefits for more than 200,000 gig economy workers, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday warned that a proposed ballot question would harm scores of workers beyond the appbased drivers at its center.
Warren gathered with organized labor leaders and the Coalition to Protect Workers’ Rights at a rally in Brighton, where she called on the initiative petition’s corporate backers to cease their campaign and slammed their effort as an attempt to avoid complying with existing state labor laws.
The question would declare that ride-share and delivery drivers are independent contractors rather than employees and offer some benefits, such as paid sick leave and a minimum pay guarantee.
That change, Warren said, could also expose hotel personnel, grocery employees and retail workers to losing their jobs or existing benefits. She pointed to California’s passage of a similar question last year known as Proposition 22, which Uber, Lyft and DoorDash collectively spent more than $200 million supporting.
“Now workers from California have fewer protections and make less money than ever before,” Warren said. “It’s not just about Uber drivers. This is about so many other essential workers. When Proposition 22 passed, unionized grocery store workers across California were laid off and replaced with app-based workers. Hotel workers lost their jobs. Retail workers lost their jobs.”
“That’s great for Big Tech, great for big corporations, and a disaster for American workers who are trying to pay the rent and keep food on the table,” she continued. “Now these companies want to come over to Massachusetts and run the same play.”
In January, California supermarket company Albertsons reportedly laid off its own unionized delivery drivers and replaced the service they provided with third-party drivers.
Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart, four of the largest and most popular app-based ride-share and delivery companies, are together funding the Coalition for Independent Work that is pursuing the ballot question. If backers clear the remaining signature-gathering hurdles, the question would go before voters in November 2022.
The group launched its effort after Attorney General Maura Healey last year sued Uber and Lyft, alleging that their current practice of treating drivers as contractors violates Massachusetts labor laws.
Supporters say the ballot question would make new benefits available to drivers and allow them to retain greater flexibility that contractor status offers, pointing to industry polls showing that many drivers prefer to be able to set their own hours and routines.