Newsom signs bill giving Uber and Lyft drivers in California the right to unionize

Drivers for ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft will quickly have the fitting to unionize in California as impartial contractors, due to a invoice signed Friday by Governor Gavin Newsom.

That is half of a bigger deal between lawmakers, unions, and ride-hailing corporations, ensuing within the passage of separate payments supporting decrease insurance coverage necessities for Uber and Lyft, together with union rights for his or her drivers. When the deal was first announced in August, Newsom described it as an “historic settlement between staff and enterprise that solely California may ship.”

The Associated Press reports that greater than 800,000 drivers will acquire the fitting to affix a union and collectively discount for higher pay and advantages. Ramona Prieto, Uber’s head of public coverage for California, advised the AP in an announcement that the 2 payments “characterize a compromise that lowers prices for riders whereas creating stronger voices for drivers.”

Massachusetts voters passed a ballot measure giving ride-hailing drivers unionization rights final fall.