500 rideshare drivers to caravan in Boston to push for union rights

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The drivers are set to ride from Dorchester up to the State House Tuesday morning.

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Over 500 rideshare drivers are set to caravan to the Massachusetts State House Tuesday morning to pressure lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow drivers who work for companies like Uber and Lyft to unionize.

“Rideshare drivers are among the only workers in the state denied the freedom to unionize,” 32BJ SEIU, a union helping the drivers organize, said in a press release.

“Now, after years of enduring decreases in their earning that can leave them making less than the state’s minimum wage…drivers are demanding that state officials pass the groundbreaking Rideshare Drivers Justice Bill.”

The jointly filed bill would be the first law in the nation to provide drivers who work for companies like Uber and Lyft with a direct path to unionization. It also includes a guaranteed minimum wage for rideshare drivers and job protections such as unemployment insurance, discrimination protection, paid sick leave, workers’ compensation, and paid family leave.

In what could be the largest demonstration by rideshare drivers in Massachusetts history, according to 32BJ SEIU, drivers are set to meet at the UMass Boston Bayside parking lot in Dorchester at 10 a.m. At 11:15 a.m., they plan to make their way through Boston in a caravan up to the State House.

A rally, including speeches, is set to start at 12:15 p.m. Activists from Drivers Demand Justice, a coalition representing over 4,000 Massachusetts rideshare drivers, will lead the rally.

It is unclear how the Sumner Tunnel closure will affect the caravan, and whether the caravan will worsen traffic caused by the closure.

Why rideshare drivers want to unionize

Rideshare drivers face financial hardships due to having to pay out-of-pocket for gas, car maintenance, and other work-related expenses, the release said. All the while, it said, they don’t have basic worker benefits such as paid sick and family leave.

Many drivers who work for companies such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Grubhub work over 60 hours a week to make ends meet, the release said.

“Massachusetts lawmakers have led the nation in labor reform before, with the historic passage of first-in-the-nation union rights for home care workers. Now, labor leaders and app workers are calling on lawmakers in the commonwealth to once again make history,” the press release reads.

Last year, the Supreme Judicial Court blocked a ballot initiative put forth by rideshare companies that would’ve made rideshare drivers’ classification as independent contractors part of Massachusetts law. The ballot measure mirrored one passed by California voters in 2020.

While Uber, Lyft, and other such companies claim classification as independent contractors ensures flexibility for drivers, many drivers argue it keeps them from having the same workers’ rights that normal employees have.

Rideshare drivers have rallied several times in the past year to gain support for their cause.