A brand new report from the group pushing to permit rideshare drivers to unionize reveals that Uber and Lyft staff are making lower than the state’s minimal wage.
According to the report by Drivers Demand Justice, after accounting for time spent ready and automobile upkeep prices, drivers in Massachusetts earn lower than the $15 per hour minimal established in state regulation.
“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 simply $12.82 an hour and a full three out of 5 drivers study lower than the minimal 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, partly.
On Tuesday, lots of of Uber and Lyft drivers rallied on the Massachusetts State House to share the outcomes 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 invoice, in response to advocates, would permit rideshare drivers to unionize and demand each higher pay and advantages from app based mostly transportation community corporations.
“We provide an essential service, yet Uber and Lyft pay us poverty wages while they rake in billions,” Uber driver Cletus Awah mentioned in an announcement 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 poll query pushed to the tune of tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} by the ridesharing companies, however rejected by the state’s highest courtroom final yr, aimed to categorise rideshare drivers as unbiased contractors by regulation, stopping them from organizing or holding the businesses responsible for work associated damages. Advocates for the change mentioned then that almost all drivers most popular the independence of a contract work association.
In 2020, rideshare corporations spent greater than $200 million to efficiently get an analogous regulation handed in California.
A brand new model of final yr’s rejected poll query may seem earlier than Bay State voters in 2024, alongside an effort by Drivers Demand Justice to ask voters to permit 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, mentioned in an announcement. “We won’t stop fighting until drivers have rights, respect, and a real voice on the job through a union.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”