by Nate raimon (NS:)
BOSTON (Reuters) – Massachusetts voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure that would allow ride-sharing drivers to unionize, becoming the first U.S. state to allow drivers for app-based companies like Uber (NYSE: and Lyft (NASDAQ:) to do so.
With 94% of precincts reporting, 53.9% of voters backed a novel framework that would allow rideshare drivers who companies consider independent contractors to organize and bargain collectively over wages and benefits, according to the Associated Press, which called the vote mid-Wednesday.
Supporters have said the ballot measure could provide a model for other states to allow Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize and inspire efforts to organize them across the United States.
The Massachusetts vote was the latest front in a years-long battle in the United States over whether ride-share drivers should be considered independent contractors or employees entitled to benefits and pay protections. Studies have shown that using contractors can cost businesses up to 30% less than employees.
Uber and Lyft drivers, including about 70,000 in Massachusetts, do not have the right to organize under the National Labor Relations Act, a federal law that covers only actual employees.
Under the Massachusetts measure, known as Question 3, drivers could form a union after collecting signatures from at least 25% of active drivers in Massachusetts. Under the measure, companies could form associations that allow them to negotiate jointly with the union during state-supervised talks.
The measure was backed by the Service Employees International Union and the International Association of Machinists and was backed by several top political leaders, including Andrea Campbell, the state's Democratic attorney general.
In June, Campbell reached a settlement with Uber and Lyft that required them to adopt a $32.50 per hour minimum wage for Massachusetts drivers and pay $175 million to resolve claims that they had improperly treated drivers as independent contractors. , instead of employees.
As part of the deal, the companies dropped their support for an abandoned ballot measure that would have codified drivers' status as contractors into law. But the agreement stopped short of declaring the drivers employees.
Uber and Lyft chose not to campaign against Question 3, although both said they had some concerns with some language as they hoped it could be addressed by the state legislature.
Question 3 had been tabled before the industry abandoned its separate vote proposal, with supporters arguing it provided the best path forward for drivers to secure better working conditions after the deal.
Question 3 divided the local union movement, with some activists saying it had not gone far enough. Some opponents had also argued that it could conflict with federal law and be open to a legal challenge.
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