Local 25 Leads Fight in Massachusetts to Strengthen Protections for
Gig Workers
BOSTON, May 23, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Amid a fight led by Teamsters Local 25 to protect
workers from abusive employers like Uber and Lyft, a new
report from the UC Berkeley Labor Center finds that ride-share
and platform delivery drivers in five major cities—including
Boston—earn less than minimum wage after tips and expenses.
Berkeley researchers found that the median hourly pay for
rideshare drivers in multiple metro areas, including Boston, is estimated at $10.64 per hour, excluding tips and expenses—well
below the Massachusetts minimum
wage of $15 an hour. Rideshare
drivers who are misclassified as independent contractors would be
better paid and protected as employees.
These findings come on the heels of another damning
report from Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio that details how companies like
Uber and Lyft have cheated the state's employee protection
programs out of hundreds of millions of dollars by misclassifying
workers as independent contractors.
"Uber and Lyft are tax cheats who have been allowed to play by a
different set of rules than every other company in Massachusetts," said Tom Mari, President of Local 25 and
Secretary-Treasurer of Joint Council 10. "They are freeloading on
the backs of every employer that complies with laws and pays taxes,
while also bleeding their workers dry. It is outrageous that Uber
and Lyft are depriving their workers of fair wages and the
Commonwealth of millions in tax revenue while simultaneously
financing multimillion-dollar campaigns to sidestep our laws."
Teamsters Local 25 has endorsed S.627/H.1158, legislation that
would protect union members from having their compensation and
benefits undercut by employers by extending collective bargaining
rights to workers at app-based companies. The legislation would
also strengthen state and federal statutes that protect employees
from being misclassified as independent contractors. These bills
come amid a push by Big Tech to force a referendum on the November
ballot that would legitimize app-based companies' unlawful business
model.
Teamsters Local 25 represents more than 12,000 members and their
families in greater Boston and
southern New England. For more information, visit
teamsterslocal25.com.
Contact:
Kara Deniz, (202)
497-6610
kdeniz@teamster.org
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SOURCE Teamsters Local 25