The war heats up over Seattle’s attempts to regulate Uber and Lyft drivers’ pay

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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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 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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Mayor proposes increasing tax on Uber & Lyft rides, minimum wage for drivers

(update below) Tomorrow morning, Mayor Durkan will unveil another of her 2020 budget initiatives: increasing the tax on Uber and Lyft rides in the city. In combination with that, she will announce a proposal to institute a minimum wage for Uber and Lyft drivers. Mayor Jenny Durkan and Deputy Mayor Shefali Ranganathan briefing the press on the proposed new tax on Uber and Lyft rides and minimum wage for TNC drivers

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Chamber of Commerce files for summary judgment in challenge to Seattle’s Uber union ordinance

Last month I wrote about the status of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s legal challenge to the City of Seattle’s ordinance authorizing Uber and Lyft drivers to engage in collective bargaining. Briefly: Last year the city tried to get the case thrown out, arguing that it had “state-action immunity.” The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, and sent the case back down for further proceedings . In December, the City Council amended its ordinance so that it no longer authorizes collective bargaining over compensation, which was very likely to be found to be illegal price-fixing among competitors.. In response, the …

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