With New Gig Worker Law, Unions Court California Ride-Hail Drivers

Organized labor has played a part in the fight to pass AB 5, the new California law that could make it easier for hundreds of thousands of contract workers and freelancers in the state to become full-time employees.

And some of those unions see the law as an opportunity to recruit lots of new workers, especially in the ride-hailing industry.

At a June 18 rally for AB 5 in front of Uber’s San Francisco headquarters, the Teamsters union showed up to support drivers with a semitruck driving down Market Street and blaring its horn.

The rally was led by Gig Workers Rising, a coalition of drivers based in Northern California that works with Teamsters but says it doesn’t take any money from them.

"We joined these drivers in their actions and lobbying efforts because we support their efforts to win the hard-earned employment rights that our members enjoy, including the right to organize, a minimum wage, worker’s compensation and a grievance procedure," Teamsters Joint Council 7 political director Doug Bloch said Tuesday in a statement.

When asked, Bloch would not say whether the Teamsters union is interested in unionizing Uber and Lyft drivers.

But the Transport Workers Union, which represents public transit and airplane workers, tells KQED it is trying to convince drivers to unionize with them by helping out Rideshare Drivers United, a driver-led coalition based in Los Angeles. The Transport Workers Union has given more than $100,000 to Rideshare Drivers United.

"We have a ton of respect for what Rideshare Drivers United has done," said Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen. "They've been organizing for two years. They’ve got a very sophisticated operation. And we certainly would like to see them in a more formal affiliation with the Transport Workers Union."

Samuelsen said local chapters of the Transport Workers Union have a high level of autonomy, as well as the muscle and resources of a national organization.

The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents public transit workers and helped drivers organize in support of AB 5, is also hoping drivers will unionize with them.

But if they choose to go to the Teamsters or SEIU (Service Employees International Union), "we're not going to be cutting each other's throats or anything for the members," said Arturo Aguilar, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1277 in Los Angeles.

But many drivers are still undecided about whether they want to organize with a national union or start their own — if and when they become employees.

Nicole Moore, a Lyft driver and organizer with Rideshare Drivers United in Los Angeles, said her organization is already a union, even though it doesn’t have collective bargaining power.

"We've been fighting for ensuring that we have an organization, our own union, that is for drivers by drivers," Moore said. "And that's what we've been building with Rideshare Drivers United. I think the most important thing is that, whether we're a local or a union, that we're run by ride-share drivers and that we're democratic."