In Seattle it's Uber vs. the unions

[pnwmom]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-gears-up-to-block-bid-to-form-a-union-in-seattle-1489237201


Uber is squaring up for a long fight in Seattle to block the nation’s first real unionization effort for app-based drivers, pitting it against the Teamsters labor union and Seattle’s city council. Uber says a union threatens the freedom of its drivers to work as much or as little as they wish and, moreover, isn't something its drivers want.

SNIP

A Seattle ordinance passed in 2015 took effect in January giving drivers the right to vote to organize, meaning some 10,000 Uber contractors could win the right to negotiate fares and benefits. The dispute has taken on added urgency in recent days as the Teamsters seek access to driver contact information from Uber and rival Lyft Inc. to help with organizing efforts, even as lawsuits challenging the ordinance roll in, including from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a group of 11 drivers backed by the National Right to Work Committee.

SNIP

The company says a union could threaten drivers’ freedom and has suggested it may leave Seattle if a union forms. Union advocates say it would deliver more consistent wages and working conditions, and help prevent Uber and Lyft from implementing sudden fare changes or shutting off drivers’ apps.

“The Seattle model has great potential to spread to other progressive cities,” said Charlotte Garden, an associate law professor at Seattle University who has studied the Uber case.

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[LisaM]

1. Go ahead, leave!

We people downtown won't miss the streets filled with Priuses driving unpredictably, the clogged up roads during events, the way one car hogs all three dropoff spaces in front of my building, and the middle finger your company gives to the law.

[Sherman A1]

2. Agreed

The faster Uber goes, the better in my opinion. Never used them, never will do so.

[whathehell]

3. Same here...Never used them and never will. n/ t.