On the picket line

Uber/Lyft drivers keep up the fight

The ongoing battle about whether gig workers are employees or “independent contractors” is continuing. The latest blow against these precarious workers came from the California Supreme Court on July 25. The court upheld Proposition 22, which gives companies like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash the means to cheat their employees out of benefits and bargaining rights by classifying them as independent contractors. 

According to Rideshare Drivers United: “Today, the Supreme Court of California decided that Prop 22 was not in violation of our state constitution, allowing Big Tech to continue exploiting drivers under a law they wrote and paid for, that replaced decades of common sense labor law in exchange for complete disregard of basic standards like hourly minimum wage standards and basic benefits like unemployment, family leave, workplace safety standards and the like.

“It allowed billion-dollar companies to rewrite labor law for their own workers, making it legal for them to pay app drivers and delivery workers less than federal minimum wage after expenses.” (drivers-united.org, July 25)

Rideshare Drivers United is a grassroots organization founded in 2018 by Los Angeles drivers. Since then, its membership has increased to 20,000 with chapters in Los Angeles, San Francisco and around the Bay Area. RDU has successfully organized two strikes that drew international solidarity. 

Big Tech spent over $220 million to get Prop 22 passed in the November 2020 election, sending a message that California labor law is for sale. 

Despite setbacks, the gig workers are determined to overcome obstacles by organizing and building solidarity. Unions can provide important assistance. In a 2021 article, “Unionizing the Gig Economy: A Path Forward For Gig Workers,” Ken Green explains: “The guidance of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) was key for getting drivers for food delivery company Foodora in Toronto to organize.

“The union helped the workers initiate an on-the-ground campaign to reach drivers outside of restaurants where they spend most of their time during working hours. ‘We had a constant street presence,’ says campaign organizer Liisa Schofield.”  (uniontrack.com, July 21, 2021)

Pay increases at Disneyland and Amtrak 

Disneyland workers won a 31% raise just by threatening to strike, which was meant to shut down the park. Disney Corporation weighed the consequences the closing of the park would have on their bottom line and opted to give in to workers’ demands. Most workers will get a $6.10 per hour wage bump, raising minimum pay at Disneyland to $24 an hour. The four unions that represent 14,000 Disneyland workers waged a contract campaign as Disney Workers Rising.

The Amtrak Service Workers Council won a significant wage increase for on-board Amtrak workers in the latest contract negotiations. The average worker will make $80,000 over the length of the contract. The unions also won 10 weeks paid parental leave.

The ASWC is made up of three unions: Transportation Communications Union, Transport Workers Union, and UNITE-HERE. Amtrak employs over 23,000 workers. Trains travel through 46 states in the U.S. and three provinces in Canada. 

Union busting at Red Rock Casino

The National Labor Relations Board upheld a litany of Unfair Labor Practice charges against Red Rock Casinos in Nevada and parent company Station Casinos. Some of the illegal practices of casino management included posting anti-union messages and instituting benefits that would only apply to workers not engaged in union activity. The NLRB ordered Station Casinos to immediately begin contract bargaining with the Culinary Union representing casino workers. 

Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said: “This decision affirms what we have been saying for years — that Station Casinos violated the law, and the company must bargain with the union because of its unlawful actions that corrupted the prospect for a free and fair union election. Station Casinos needs to stop breaking the law and treat its workers with respect.” (hrdive.com, June 25)

The Culinary Union has an 88-year history of fighting for workers in Nevada. In 2018, the CU won a contract at the Thomas and Mack Arena that protected immigrants who have Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status and provided wage increases, health care and pension benefits.