$7m for Uber, gig drivers vote fight
Ballot efforts aimed at ride-hailing industry
Uber, Instacart, and other gig economy companies have poured more than $7 million into ballot efforts that could reshape Massachusetts’ ride-hailing industry amid a slate of questions that could appear before voters in November.
The donations to industry-backed group, Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers 2024, are probably the opening salvo of an expensive campaign. The committee is pushing five different versions of a ballot question that would enshrine drivers and delivery people as independent contractors, while, in some cases, providing them some benefits.
Meanwhile, the labor-backed group United for Justice — which opposes those efforts and is pushing a ballot question of its own that would allow app drivers to unionize — reported Monday that it raised $1 million from the Service Employees International Union and its local labor branch, 32BJ.
Local labor leaders have argued that the industry-backed petitions would “ultimately limit the rights of drivers.” A union-backed report released in October found that Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts earn well below the state’s $15 minimum wage.
Uber has put nearly $2.5 million toward the effort, while Instacart and DoorDash have contributed $1.8 million and roughly $1.7 million, respectively. Lyft gave the largest single donation the committee disclosed taking in a new report: a $1 million contribution shortly after the group launched in August.
The same companies put tens of millions of dollars behind a similar, but failed, initiative that appeared to be headed for the 2022 ballot before the Supreme Judicial Court ruled it was unconstitutional. That committee raised
nearly $44 million, including taking the two largest political donations in state history — a $13.3 million donation from Instacart and a $13 million contribution from Lyft.
That committee ended up refunding much of it, collectively giving back more than $24 million following the court decision.
The question of how thousands of gig-economy workers should be classified has been debated in Massachusetts for several years, and carries major implications not just for the rights and benefits they are entitled to in the state but for some of the country’s most well-known gig economy companies.
This time the courts could again provide some clarity on the issue before voters get to weigh in. A trial is slated to begin in May in a lawsuit filed by then-attorney general, and nowgovernor, Maura Healey against Uber and Lyft in 2020.
The industry-backed proposal is also expected to draw other labor opposition. A committee known as the Coalition to Protect Workers’ Rights — which the AFL-CIO and other labor groups created to oppose the 2022 ballot proposal — reported taking nearly $519,000 in contributions last year to bolster its plan to mount a challenge to this year’s version.
The group disclosed taking $100,000 contributions from both the New England Regional Council of Carpenters and the California-based Omidyar Network, a firm launched by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. The Massachusetts Teachers Association gave another $75,000.
“We kept [the committee] alive because we expected them to come back with more,” said Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, though she acknowledged the committee may not ultimately be match the money Uber, Lyft, and others can put toward the ballot fight. “They’ve already shattered campaign finance records.”
The ride-hailing-related petitions were among 10 the secretary of state’s office said this month had gathered the 74,000plus signatures necessary to officially move to the Legislature, which now has until the end of April to either pass or propose a substitute for each proposed ballot question.
The vast majority of the money the ride-hailing industrybacked committee spent — roughly $5.6 million — went toward a lone signature-gathering firm in West Springfield. Another $677,000 went toward consultants, including Dewey Square Group, a public affairs firm with deep roots in Democratic politics.
Other petitions aiming for November’s ballot include a high-profile bid to eliminate the MCAS exam as a high school graduation requirement, which the Massachusetts Teachers Association reported putting $1.1 million behind in staff time to organize, collect signatures, and other duties. The union has long argued the requirement is unfair, overly stressful for students, and puts too much focus on a narrow set of topics.
The Cambridge-based advocacy group One Fair Wage reported making $673,883 in socalled in-kind contributions, mostly for collecting signatures, in backing another proposal that would apply the state’s minimum wage of $15 to tens of thousands of tipped service workers.
Reports covering 2023 donations for ballot campaigns were due Monday. As of late Monday afternoon, several other committees had yet to file, including a group that is behind a proposal that would give state Auditor Diana DiZoglio the power to audit the Legislature. DiZoglio has already disclosed in her own campaign reports that she has given the effort $105,000.
A separate committee, known as Massachusetts for Mental Health Options, is pushing a petition to legalize the possession and supervised use of natural psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms. Modeled after similar measures in Oregon and Colorado, the proposed measure calls for the creation of a state commission to license “psychedelic therapy centers.”