Legal 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.

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Uber collective-bargaining lawsuit inches forward

Since the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a split-decision last fall, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s legal challenge to Seattle’s ordinance granting collective-bargaining rights to Uber and Lyft drivers has been back in the hands of the district court. But it’s proceeding in starts and stops, with the occasional flurry of motions and other legal filings. Today a joint status report filed by the parties extends that pattern.

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Robart approves briefing schedule change, but asks for more details

This morning Judge James Robart, who presides over the city’s consent decree with the DOJ over biased policing, issued an order granting the DOJ more time to file its brief. But he also ordered the city to hand over several additional documents that dive into the details of the SPD disciplinary/appeals process and the recently-signed Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the police officers’ union.

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A deep dive on the SPOG contract

Last week a fight broke out between the Community Police Commission (CPC) and the Mayor’s Office over the tentative collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with SPOG, the police officer’s union. In the days since the CPC voted last Wednesday to urge the City Council to reject the contract, I’ve talked to both sides to try to understand their perspectives on the contract. What became clear very quickly is that we can’t understand the CBA without first understanding the legal context surrounding it. Here’s what I’ve learned, and what I think it means for the city’s negotiations with SPOG. Caveat: I am …

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