UBER AND LYFT DRIVERS’ EMPLOYMENT STATUS COULD BE BACK ON THE BALLOT

The long-running battle over the employment status of Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts is ramping up again, with dueling ballot measures filed Wednesday — one by a local union and drivers that would give drivers the right to organize, and the other from a group of “drivers and allies” to enshrine gig drivers’ status as independent contractors — that aim to put the matter up for a vote. The petitions are the first step in a lengthy process that could put the rights of tens of thousands of gig-economy drivers before voters in November 2024, and mark the latest round in a fight that has been simmering for years over whether such drivers are truly freelancers, or effectively employees of tech giants and thus eligible for more benefits and legal protections. After winning a similar vote in California in 2020, Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart poured millions of dollars into a 2022 ballot campaign and related legislation that would have formally established ride-hailing and delivery drivers in Massachusetts as independent contractors, with unlimited flexibility and limited benefits owed under state law. Labor advocates fought back, insisting that drivers are entitled to full employment protections under state law and that the companies are seeking to save money by creating a system of second-class workers, the majority of them people of color. Last year, the Supreme Judicial Court threw out the tech industry-backed ballot question, ruling the initiative was unconstitutional. Now both sides are back to try again.