Sen. Savino To Sponsor Bill To Allow Uber/Lyft Drivers To Unionize

State Senator Diane Savino (D – parts of Staten Island and southern Brooklyn) will be sponsoring legislation that will allow Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize.

The bill would force ride sharing companies to treat drivers as employees rather freelance contractors. “There’s no scenario I can imagine that’s not going to include collective bargaining,” said Sen. Savino. “New York is a solidly union town, and I am a solidly union senator.”  Governor Andrew Cuomo previously indicated that he supports legislation that would force ride-sharing companies away from the freelance contractor model.

Several other bills were also proposed over the last year to ban the freelance contractor model for companies that include not just ride-sharing, but also those like Grubhub and Seamless.