In the seven years Yolanda Rodriguez has worked as a driver for Uber and Lyft, she says she’s been sexually harassed by customers, exposed to dangerous situations and had her account deactivated multiple times with no path for recourse through her employer and no other way to financially support her family.
Rodriguez and thousands of other ride-hailing service drivers in Massachusetts have signed cards indicating their support to join a union, less than one month after voters passed a ballot question that would make unionizing a possibility.
“This job is hard as a woman, especially as a mother,” Rodriguez said through a translator at a rally outside the state’s Department of Transportation Building Wednesday. “It’s very important that we have a voice to make the companies listen to our needs. We need to be able to fight for stronger protections.”
Around 100 Uber and Lyft drivers chanted union songs and held up signs indicating their support for a future coalition known as the App Drivers Union at Wednesday’s rally, an event supported by local organizers from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Building Service Employees International Union.
Roxana Rivera, an organizer 32BJ SEIU, said union organizers are currently gauging support. Once the question becomes law in January, they will need 25% of the approximately 80,000 drivers across the state to indicate their approval in order to conduct a formal card check, the first step in moving toward union recognition.
“We don’t want to delay, because these drivers have been waiting for years and really struggling with these app companies,” she told GBH News.
Rivera said she estimates that organizers have already secured “double of what is needed” to indicate approval, moving Massachusetts closer to becoming the first state with a union representing drivers of ride-hailing apps.
“The eyes of the country are on Massachusetts,” she told the crowd Wednesday.
Bethlehem Tsegyae, who has been driving for Uber and Lyft for the past 11 years, said drivers are concerned about pay, as the percentage that companies take as commission have shifted in recent years, and vary depending on the ride.
“Inflation is high and car prices are high, but the amount we are making is less and less,” she said, adding that prices of rides might go down, and drivers can be penalized for choosing not to pick up passengers at lower rates.
Tsegyae added that drivers find themselves without real support from their employer when attempting to dispute account deactivation, customer complaints, and false allegations or incidents of harassment or abuse from customers.
“We’re excited to have a voice on the job,” she said. “Uber and Lyft [have said] that they are partnering with us, but they are not really a partner.”
Uber and Lyft did not immediately respond to GBH News’ request for comment.
Paul Mbemeh said he’s done 8,000 rides with Uber and nearly 6,000 rides while working for both companies over the past six and a half years. At Wednesday’s rally, he urged the crowd to campaign for the union at every possible opportunity, pledging to speak with other drivers at the airport while they wait for planes to land.
“We are telling Uber and Lyft, we come in peace. If we can sit at the negotiating table, we want a win-win partnership,” he said.
Mbemeh was among hundreds of drivers who protested for benefits like paid sick leave at a rally on the Boston Common in 2020, as drivers faced major wage losses during the pandemic. Drivers won a major court ruling to pursue wage claims against the companies, but their classification as independent contractors left many drivers without any resulting payback.
In July, Attorney General Andrea Campbell secured a settlement in a case against Uber and Lyft, requiring a minimum pay rate of $32.50 per hour and additional benefits and protections. The companies agreed to pay a combined total of $175 million to the state to resolve allegations that they violated Massachusetts wage and hour laws.
Mike Vartabedian, an organizer with the International Association of Machinists, said unionizing will provide additional levels of protection. Going up against the two corporate giants will not be an easy feat, but he says the drivers and their representatives are prepared.
“Of course there’s a concern that they’ve got a lot of money and I think most companies don’t particularly like to have a unionized workforce,” Vartabedian told GBH News. “But, you know ... we know how to combat that.”
The movement has the support of two powerful unions, he said, “but the power really comes from the drivers. There are thousands of them, and they’re really excited about joining a union.”
