This afternoon, the City Council voted 9-0 to extend the deadline for rulemaking for unionization of for-hire drivers until January 17th, 2017.
The ordinance that allows Uber, Lyft and other “transportation network” drivers to unionize was passed last year, and gave the Department of Finance and Administrative Services until September 19th to complete the rulemaking.
Earlier this summer, FAS admitted that they needed more time. One issue in particular is particularly troublesome: which drivers would be eligible to vote on representations. One camp believes that only full-time drivers should vote; another believes that all drivers, even if they only work a few hours a month, should be allowed to vote. Both sides admit that full-time and part-time drivers have different needs and priorities that they would want represented by a union.
The City Council public comment sessions on the issue demonstrate that emotions run strong on both sides.
The Council debated in committee whether to extend the deadline only to mid-November, but in the end decided today to give FAS the full time they requested.