Back in April, it seemed the City of Seattle had finally made peace with Uber and Lyft; after years of legislation and lawsuits, they settled in court and all parties agreed to work together to determine a fair compensation standard for TNC drivers. Sadly, it was not to last: earlier this month a new skirmish broke out, with dueling studies, academic cat-fighting, and some big policy questions coming to the forefront.
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“Defunding SPD” is going to be a lot harder than anyone thinks
Yesterday’s acknowledgement by the city that the Council’s ban on “less lethal” weapons violated the terms of the 2012 Consent Decree points to a much larger issue: efforts to “defund” and re-imagine the Seattle Police Department will face a complex web of legal, labor, and contractual impediments that will drag out the process for several months or possibly years.
Continue readingInstacart sues Seattle over “premium pay” ordinance
Last Friday Instacart, the grocery-delivery company, sued the City of Seattle over the recently-enacted ordinance that requires the company and its peers to give “premium pay” to its gig workers during the COVID emergency.
Continue readingBill requiring premium pay for gig workers seems poised to move ahead, with changes
After several weeks of delay while negotiations occurred in the background, a bill that would require some companies employing “gig workers” to provide premium pay seems poised for approval tomorrow — after some significant rewriting.
Continue readingA refresher on SPD’s disciplinary process and the police accountability system
With the issues of police misconduct and excessive use of force on the top of everyone’s minds given last week’s police killing of George Floyd as well as the events of this past weekend, it’s worth having a quick refresher on how Seattle’s police accountability system works, and what the process is for investigating police misconduct.
Continue readingNotes from today’s Council meetings
For a Tuesday, it sure felt like a Monday.
Continue readingMosqueda introduces bill to require paid sick & safe time to some gig workers
This week Council member Mosqueda introduced a bill that would require certain companies that rely on “gig economy” workers to provide paid sick and safe time to those workers for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.
Continue readingCatching up on court cases: May edition
The wheels of justice are continuing to turn, albeit slower, during the COVID-19 shutdown. Let’s look at four cases the city is involved in, and catch up on the most recent actions.
Continue readingLegal challenge to Seattle’s Uber drivers collective bargaining ordinance ends
Yesterday the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Uber, and the City of Seattle jointly agreed to end the lawsuit challenging the city’s ordinance granting Uber and Lyft drivers certain collective-bargaining rights, and this morning the judge overseeing the case officially dismissed it. This ends the case’s complex, three-year journey through the court system.
Continue readingUber drivers union lawsuit headed back to appeals court shortly
Two weeks ago SCC Insight provided an update on a 2017 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenging Seattle’s ordinance granting Uber and Lyft drivers the right to collective bargaining. The case has been snaking its way through the court system for years now, with one trip to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2018 already. And with a defiant filing by the Chamber today, it’s about to head right back there.
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