Uber drivers' union could be delayed 6 months or more Crowded uproar at council update Wednesday

Uber, Lyft and other drivers may have to wait a bit longer before any semblance of a union organizing plan actually takes shape. Uber, Lyft and other drivers may have to wait a bit longer before any semblance of a union organizing plan actually takes shape. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Uber drivers' union could be delayed 6 months or more 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

It seems that Uber, Lyft, taxi and for-hire drivers will have to wait a while before they see just what a union might look like for themselves.

After a rowdy public comment period that saw more than 100 people sign up to speak, the City Council’s Education, Equity and Governance Committee got the word from city staff that they’ll likely need another six months to iron out the details on how to put into action Seattle’s first-of-its-kind ordinance allowing ride-hailing, taxi and for-hire drivers to unionize.

READ MORE: City Council: Uber, other drivers can unionize

It was a raucous scene at City Hall on Wednesday afternoon, as committee chair Bruce Harrell repeatedly warned speakers as they talked far beyond comment time limits and the packed audience rose into an uproar of boos and applause over and over.

While many speakers made declarations either for or against unionizing, staff from the Mayor’s Office and the city’s Finance and Administrative Services Department told the committee that the biggest hurdle to moving the law forward was determining just who among drivers will get to vote.

“Today is not the day to gripe about the other issues or gripe about a law that is already passed,” Harrell told the crowd in an attempt to focus comments. “The ‘who gets to vote,’ that’s critical.”

The ordinance, passed last December by the council, allows the drivers to organize unions to bargain their wages, benefits and working conditions. But since the drivers are all independent contractors — a group not allowed to unionize under existing federal law — figuring out even which drivers get to vote on matters is far from easy.

Many drivers spoke up during public comment, noting that drivers who use Uber or Lyft for part-time or “fun” employment shouldn’t get to help decide the fate of drivers who depend on driving for a living.

City staff conducted outreach after passage of the ordinance, but seems to have only contacted about 180 or so drivers and a handful of managers, leaving nearly 90 percent of drivers potentially unaware of what’s at stake, said David Mendoza, senior policy advisor for the Mayor’s Office of Policy and Immigration.

While many drivers said the more democratic ‘one driver, one vote’ approach was better, some worried that a company like Uber could flood the city with new hires aimed at diluting the vote in their favor.

“This is kind of a typical union-busting tactic,” said Tim Petryni, who voiced just that concern during public comment. “The idea is that you can get a bunch of new part-time employees to vote against the drivers’ interests.”

But even getting the current 10,000 estimated ride-hailing and other drivers in the city to vote on any part of the collective bargaining process may be a challenge since the city doesn’t necessarily have up-to-the-minute tabs on every one of them.

Getting in touch with all those drivers is a concern the both members of City Council and drivers voiced during and after the meeting.

“How are they going to reach out to those drivers … to vote?” asked Araarso Nejash, a for-hire and Uber drive, after the drivers' union presentation wrapped up. He also wondered if the city would plan on checking back with drivers in a year or two to see if the ordinance helped or hurt drivers and their working conditions.

Uber and Lyft both voiced opposition to the ordinance ahead of December’s passage, but Uber has said it won’t retaliate against drivers who support a collective bargaining agreement, and for now, is taking the stance that it wants drivers to have a voice.

“Uber is concerned that the current ordinance denies many drivers the ability to vote on issues that will affect them,” said Caleb Weaver, Uber’s Seattle spokesperson.

Weaver said the plans by staff to draft another ordinance that plans more outreach and extends the timeline for implementation by six months are encouraging to Uber, as the company wants the city to take a “thoughtful approach.”

Many Uber drivers voiced strong opposition to forming any kind of union, calling for everyone to have a vote to decide if they should organize — as the ordinance spells out — and worrying that Uber could leave the city if drivers make it too hard for the company to do business.

“If Uber doesn’t get what they want, they’ll leave,” said Geoff McMahon, who drives for Uber and Lyft. “They’ve done it to other cities.”

Uber hasn’t made any statements to suggest it has or would consider leaving Seattle over the ordinance.

The ordinance was written with many gaps to be filled in, as it runs counter to federal labor law and needs to be put into action carefully if it will avoid a suit over its legality.

For one thing, federal antitrust laws forbid businesses from forming together to negotiate terms to do business with other businesses or customers — called a trust or collusion. As independent contractors, Uber, Lyft and other drivers essentially are individual businesses under federal law.

What’s more, the National Labor Relations Act, which deals with how labor unions may organize, doesn’t allow for independent contractors either.

READ MORE: U.S. Chamber of Commerce first to sue over Seattle drivers' union ordinance

The city has already drawn a suit from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over the ordinance, and is likely to draw more litigation once the law is implemented.

Harrell’s committee will meet again in two weeks, when staff will present an ordinance spelling out the details of an outreach plan and a timeline to get the law into action.

Daniel DeMay covers business, transportation and Seattle culture. He can be reached at 206-448-8362 ordanieldemay@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Daniel_DeMay.