Bill aims to secure raises and rights for drivers regardless of employment category
BOSTON, MA — On Friday, the Boston Independent Drivers Guild (BIDG) filed the Rideshare Driver Bill of Rights with the Massachusetts legislature seeking better pay, a right to form a union, a right to dispute deactivations, and other rights for rideshare drivers in the state. The legislation, filed as SD2359, ‘An Act Establishing A Rideshare Driver Bill of Rights’, seeks to secure these rights for drivers regardless of their employment category, whether drivers remain independent contractors or become employees of Uber, Lyft, or other app-based companies. The filing counters Uber’s own bill, filed last week, that seeks to exempt drivers from the ‘ABC’ test and define them as independent contractors.
The Rideshare Driver Bill of Rights was developed democratically with hundreds of rideshare drivers in Massachusetts who are members of BIDG. The legislation includes:
- A $20/hour minimum wage
- Fair share of TNC taxes
- Right to a union
- Right to MA employee benefits
- Right to dispute deactivations
- Right to a flexible schedule
- Freedom from passenger harassment
View the bill here.
“As the largest rideshare driver organization in New England, we are not waiting for Uber and Lyft to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into Massachusetts in order to pay workers less and deny our rights,” stated Henry De Groot, Executive Director of BIDG. “Our Rideshare Driver Bill of Rights puts drivers behind the steering wheel in determining how to regulate our industry and challenge Uber and Lyft’s assault on worker rights. While Uber and Lyft seek to create a third category in order to keep drivers voiceless and in poverty, our bill gives raises and rights to drivers regardless of category.”
For more information and for comment from Boston Independent Drivers Guild, please contact Jeffrey Dugas at drivebidg@gmail.com.
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The Boston Independent Drivers Guild (BIDG) is an independent organization of rideshare drivers in the greater Boston area dedicated to giving a voice to the workers who make Lyft and Uber possible. As part of a wider national movement, BIDG is fighting to win collective bargaining rights and unionization for drivers. BIDG.org
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