In a first-of-its-kind law, the Seattle City Council voted 8-0 to allow drivers for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft to bargain collectively.

"The intent of this legislation is to create an environment where innovation can continue to happen, but not at the expense of the workers," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien, who spearheaded the proposal. "I firmly believe that this legislation is a great step in that direction."

"Uber does not share and does not care," said Councilmember Kshama Sawant. Uber drivers who take out loans to buy cars have become "trapped by debt," she added. "Uber drivers can be 'deactivated,' which is a fancy word for being fired," without cause.

The proposal, which also applies to taxis and other traditional for-hire vehicles, was passed out of committee in October. It has been opposed by both Uber and Lyft, who are expected to sue to try to overturn it. Councilmember Tom Rasmussen urged his colleagues not to be dissuaded by that. "That's the price of innovating," he said.

Following the vote, a large crowd of the bill's supporters that had come to the council meeting broke out in cheers and chants.

"Uber is creating new opportunities for many people to earn a better living on their own time and their own terms," a spokesperson told Ars in an e-mailed statement. "Drivers say that with flexible and independent work with Uber, 50% of them drive fewer than 10 hours a week, 70% have full-time or part-time work outside of Uber and 65% choose to vary the hours they drive 25% week-to-week."

That statement echoes points made by former Obama adviser David Plouffe, who now works for Uber, and visited Seattle earlier this month to advocate against the proposal. The head of tech company lobbying group the Internet Association, Michael Beckerman, also slammed the proposal in a Seattle Times op-ed, saying most Uber and Lyft drivers prefer to have flexibility and work part-time.

On his website, O'Brien says he worked for the legislation because many drivers make less than Seattle's minimum wage, "have no rights in their jobs, and when they do raise issues they are quickly silenced or retaliated against." Seattle's minimum wage is currently $11 and is being increased to $15 in stages.

Uber and Lyft treat drivers as independent contractors, not employees. That classification has been challenged in federal lawsuits, however, and a class-action case against Uber in California could go to trial as early as next summer. A similar case, based in Seattle, was moved from state to federal court last month.

Under the proposal, ride-hailing apps will be required to give lists of their drivers to driver representative organizations. The representative groups will have to demonstrate they have the support of a majority of drivers for a particular company before they can bargain for them.

The local Teamsters union supported the bill, as did a new group called the App-Based Drivers Association.

It isn't even clear how many Uber drivers there are in Seattle. An employment law firm filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out how many for-hire licenses King County had granted to Uber drivers, but last week Uber sued to block that information from being shared. The company says the number of drivers in Seattle constitutes a trade secret.