Seattle May Be Driving the Erasure of a Profession

Seattle may have just allowed unions to negotiate away an entire profession . A year ago, the Seattle City Council voted to extend collective bargaining to certain independent contractors, including those who partner with ridesharing platforms such as Lyft and Uber. This move was the first of its kind because federal labor law only allows employees to collectively bargain. Instead of giving a voice to drivers, Seattle’s newly proposed rules for the collective bargaining process silence the opinions of thousands of workers.