A new report from the group pushing to allow rideshare drivers to unionize shows that Uber and Lyft workers are making less than the state’s minimum wage.
According to the report by Drivers Demand Justice, after accounting for time spent waiting and vehicle maintenance costs, drivers in Massachusetts earn less than the $15 per hour minimum established in state law.
“Ridehail drivers in Massachusetts grapple with a harsh reality – promised earnings often fall significantly short of actual compensation. Drivers routinely discover their earnings to be substantially lower than expected, largely attributed to unaccounted-for work time and the substantial burden of work-related expenses. Analysis of ridehail data shows that the net earnings for a majority of drivers in the industry fall below the state’s minimum wage,” the report reads.
The “median Massachusetts ridehail driver” makes just $12.82 an hour and a full three out of five drivers learn less than the minimum wage, the group says.
“Almost half (48.9%) of the typical driver’s gross ridehail earnings are wiped out by driving expenses,” the report reads, in part.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers rallied at the Massachusetts State House to share the results of their report and push for the passage of HD.1099 or SD.666, or An Act establishing collective bargaining rights for TNC drivers.
The bill, according to advocates, would allow rideshare drivers to unionize and demand both better pay and benefits from app based transportation network companies.
“We provide an essential service, yet Uber and Lyft pay us poverty wages while they rake in billions,” Uber driver Cletus Awah said in a statement shared by the group. “We deserve a living wage and basic protections like the freedom to join a union. But these companies will keep exploiting us until legislators step up and pass the Rideshare Driver Justice Bill.”
A ballot question pushed to the tune of tens of millions of dollars by the ridesharing businesses, but rejected by the state’s highest court last year, aimed to classify rideshare drivers as independent contractors by law, preventing them from organizing or holding the companies liable for work related damages. Advocates for the change said then that most drivers preferred the independence of a contract work arrangement.
In 2020, rideshare companies spent more than $200 million to successfully get a similar law passed in California.
A new version of last year’s rejected ballot question could appear before Bay State voters in 2024, alongside an effort by Drivers Demand Justice to ask voters to allow them to unionize. In the meantime, drivers are hoping the Legislature can act first.
“We have a narrow window to do right by drivers before Uber and Lyft spend millions undermining us like they did in California,” Boston state Rep. Christopher Worrell, a former rideshare driver, said in a statement. “We won’t stop fighting until drivers have rights, respect, and a real voice on the job through a union.”
