{"id":281714,"date":"2021-06-23T15:47:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T12:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/massachusetts-coalition-launches-to-fight-uber-lyft-and-avoid-california-gig-work-outcome\/"},"modified":"2021-06-23T15:47:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T12:47:00","slug":"massachusetts-coalition-launches-to-fight-uber-lyft-and-avoid-california-gig-work-outcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/massachusetts-coalition-launches-to-fight-uber-lyft-and-avoid-california-gig-work-outcome\/","title":{"rendered":"#: Massachusetts coalition launches to fight Uber, Lyft and avoid California gig-work outcome"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a41018d307fb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a41018d307fb\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/massachusetts-coalition-launches-to-fight-uber-lyft-and-avoid-california-gig-work-outcome\/#Gig_workers_labor_groups_and_others_want_to_battle_expansion_of_Proposition_22-like_measure_to_Massachusetts\" >Gig workers, labor groups and others want to battle expansion of Proposition 22-like measure to Massachusetts<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/massachusetts-coalition-launches-to-fight-uber-lyft-and-avoid-california-gig-work-outcome\/#What_happened_in_California\" >What happened in California<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/massachusetts-coalition-launches-to-fight-uber-lyft-and-avoid-california-gig-work-outcome\/#Massachusetts_polls_so_far\" >Massachusetts polls so far<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/massachusetts-coalition-launches-to-fight-uber-lyft-and-avoid-california-gig-work-outcome\/#Beyond_ride-hailing\" >Beyond ride-hailing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/massachusetts-coalition-launches-to-fight-uber-lyft-and-avoid-california-gig-work-outcome\/#Civil-rights_issue\" >Civil-rights issue<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/massachusetts-coalition-launches-to-fight-uber-lyft-and-avoid-california-gig-work-outcome\/#Levi_Sumagaysay\" >Levi Sumagaysay<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#: Massachusetts coalition launches to fight Uber, Lyft and avoid California gig-work outcome<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Gig_workers_labor_groups_and_others_want_to_battle_expansion_of_Proposition_22-like_measure_to_Massachusetts\"><\/span>\n  Gig workers, labor groups and others want to battle expansion of Proposition 22-like measure to Massachusetts<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\">\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000313597\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"\n                inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetArticleReader\n              \n              inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetArticleReader\n              article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-object-article-reader\">\n<div class=\"audioplayer\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000313597\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Listen to Article\" tabindex=\"-1\" id=\"articlereader\" data-show-title=\"false\" data-theme=\"wsj-article-reader\" data-show-header=\"false\" data-show-subscribe=\"false\" data-ads-enabled=\"true\" data-save-publication=\"false\">\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       Trying to avoid a repeat of gig companies\u2019 victory in California last November, Massachusetts workers, community organizers, labor and civil-rights groups on Tuesday launched an effort to fight an expected ballot measure over worker classification.<\/p>\n<p> The Coalition to Protect Workers\u2019 Rights expects Uber Technologies Inc.<br \/>\n        UBER,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/211348248\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+1.93%<\/bg-quote><span>,<\/span><br \/>\n       Lyft Inc.<br \/>\n        LYFT,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/208999293\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-0.74%<\/bg-quote><span>,<\/span><br \/>\n       DoorDash Inc.<br \/>\n        DASH,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/222973991\/composite\" class=\"positive\">+3.33%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       and other gig companies to continue their campaign to treat their workers as independent contractors instead of employees in Massachusetts, which has some of the toughest labor laws in the nation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       The companies \u201cwant to undermine our state\u2019s longstanding civil rights and worker-rights laws,\u201d said Mike Firestone, director of the new labor-backed coalition, at a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> conference. \u201cWe know that the only way to combat that kind of money is to organize early.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The companies\u2019 filing deadline to get a measure on the ballot in Massachusetts \u2014 where Uber and Lyft are facing a lawsuit from the state attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> over misclassification of their drivers \u2014 is Aug. 4, Firestone said. He added that he expects the companies to spend more than $100 million on such a campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Shannon Liss-Riordan, a labor attorney who has been suing gig companies for the past decade, said at the news conference: \u201cWe believe Massachusetts will be the next ground zero in the worker battle. They\u2019re going to try to do here what they did in California, which is to buy themselves a law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart spent a record-breaking $200 million-plus to put Proposition 22 on the ballot in California last year. After 58% of the state\u2019s voters <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roved the measure, the companies said they would seek to expand it elsewhere. Massachusetts gig workers, labor groups, civil rights and environmental justice groups have banded together to try to keep that from happening in their state, partly by drawing from lessons learned in California.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_happened_in_California\"><\/span>What happened in California<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>Drivers, California lawmakers and labor advocates say Proposition 22, which promised guaranteed earnings of 120% of the minimum wage, health-care stipends and some other benefits, has largely failed to deliver. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cPart of what they did in California was to lie, to misrepresent the reality of what the bill was,\u201d said Veena Dubal, a labor professor at UC Hastings College of the Law, at the news conference. For example, she noted that drivers are not paid for the time between rides. <\/p>\n<p>In addition, a recent survey commissioned by SEIU 721 in Los Angeles found that most drivers are finding they are ineligible for the health-care stipends because they are low income and qualify for health insurance through the state. In response, a coalition representing the companies has said \u201cthousands of drivers\u201d have started receiving health-care stipends since Proposition 22 passed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>See: Uber, Lyft drivers say new California law isn\u2019t solving their health-care needs<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>Proposition 22 was the gig companies\u2019 successful effort to exempt themselves from a California law that would have required them to treat their drivers as employees. That law was modeled after a similar Massachusetts law, which uses the \u201cABC test\u201d to determine when workers can be considered an independent contractor: when they control their work; when their duties fall outside of the usual scope of a company\u2019s business; and if they independently do that work.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Massachusetts_polls_so_far\"><\/span>Massachusetts polls so far<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>The Massachusetts Coalition for Independent Work, whose members include the gig companies plus chambers of commerce and tech industry groups, said Tuesday that surveys it commissioned show that 64% of drivers in the state want to remain independent contractors, and that seven in 10 voters support legislation that would classify drivers as independent contractors while giving them benefits.<\/p>\n<p>But the newly formed Massachusetts worker coalition released contradictory results of a survey it commissioned. It showed that less than one-third of the state\u2019s voters support the gig company-backed bill. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re going to get these conflicting polls,\u201d Liss-Riordan said. \u201cIt all depends on how you ask the question. These gig companies are not being straight. You can have flexibility and you can have protections under the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Beyond_ride-hailing\"><\/span>Beyond ride-hailing <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Steve Tolman, echoing some of the comments by Liss-Riordan and Dubal, said the upcoming battle in Massachusetts is more than just about ride-hailing drivers and those currently classified as gig workers. They said grocery delivery drivers, hotel and restaurant workers have lost their union jobs since the passage of Proposition 22 in California. <\/p>\n<p><strong>See: Albertsons, Vons shifting to third-party grocery delivery in California, elsewhere<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe [companies] come in here with their high tech, high-falutin\u2019 attitudes and think they can change Massachusetts,\u201d Tolman said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to allow it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dubal said, \u201cThis is about protecting wages and livelihoods of service workers across the country.\u201d <\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Civil-rights_issue\"><\/span>Civil-rights issue<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>Dubal also said the fight \u201cis a civil-rights issue, not just a labor-rights issue.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>During their campaign in California, the gig companies \u201cused the facade of racial benevolence to say this was going to somehow benefit people of color,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve already seen in the aftermath that wages have gone down and consumer prices have gone up.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston NAACP, also spoke at the news conference. She acknowledged the \u201copportunity in the gig economy\u201d but added that \u201cit is critically important that, from a civil-rights standpoint, we stand with labor on this particular issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>William Gould, professor emeritus at Stanford Law School and a former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, told MarketWatch that the Massachusetts worker coalition should watch which organizations may have received financial support from gig companies. \u201cOne thing we didn\u2019t understand here [in California] was the extent to which some civil-rights groups were apparently influenced to either remain silent or support the companies,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>See: Race has played a large role in Uber and Lyft\u2019s fight to preserve their business models<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A recent report from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/themarkup.org\/news\/2021\/06\/17\/uber-and-lyft-donated-to-community-groups-who-then-pushed-the-companies-agenda\" class=\"icon none\">The Markup<\/a> detailed Uber and Lyft\u2019s donations to organizations that work with communities of color. Some of those organizations placed op-eds extolling the virtues of gig work in minority newspapers.<\/p>\n<p>Beth Griffith, a driver and chair of the Boston Independent Drivers Guild, said at the news conference that upwards of 70% of Massachusetts\u2019 220,000 gig workers are people of color and immigrants.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe may not have the biggest budget but we have the biggest heart,\u201d Griffith said of the fight the new coalition has launched, which will include educating gig workers and the public about the worker protections that are at stake. \u201cAnd we have the most to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>      <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Levi Sumagaysay\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Levi_Sumagaysay\"><\/span>Levi Sumagaysay<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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