Washington, D.C. — Following the certification of the App Drivers Union as the bargaining representative for approximately 70,000 Massachusetts rideshare drivers, a new Center for American Progress analysis examines how the state’s groundbreaking sectoral bargaining law could reshape worker organizing in the gig economy and create one of the largest new private sector bargaining units in modern U.S. history.
Massachusetts’ 2024 rideshare bargaining law lowers barriers to unionization and allows drivers to bargain collectively across an entire industry, rather than workplace by workplace. This model could become a template for improving wages and working conditions in industries where workers are dispersed, managed by algorithms, or classified as independent contractors.
“Massachusetts drivers are showing that workers in the modern economy can still build collective power,” said David Madland, senior adviser to the American Worker Project at CAP and author of the analysis. “This groundbreaking sectoral bargaining model gives rideshare drivers a real path to negotiate for better pay, benefits, and protections in an industry that sorely needs improvements.”
The analysis highlights several key findings:
- The bargaining unit could be historically significant. The approximately 70,000-driver App Drivers Union could become the largest new private sector bargaining unit since the 1941 unionization of Ford’s River Rouge plant workers.
- Massachusetts created a new organizing model for gig workers. The law allows drivers to access coworker contact information with support from just 5 percent of workers and begin bargaining with support from 25 percent of drivers, significantly lower thresholds than those required under the National Labor Relations Act.
- Sectoral bargaining is especially effective in fragmented industries. Because rideshare work is dispersed and structured around independent contractors, sectoral bargaining allows all drivers in the industry to negotiate collectively regardless of employment classification or work arrangement.
- Drivers are seeking protections against unstable working conditions and AI-driven management. Drivers face low pay, occupational safety concerns, arbitrary deactivation, algorithmic management, and the growing threat of job displacement from autonomous vehicles.
- Massachusetts and California together could dramatically expand bargaining coverage. If rideshare drivers in both states successfully secure contracts, an estimated 900,000 workers could ultimately be covered by collective bargaining agreements.
- The model is already spreading. Similar rideshare bargaining legislation is advancing in Illinois and Minnesota and could expand to additional industries where improving working conditions has proven difficult.
Read the analysis: “Fast Facts About Massachusetts Rideshare Sectoral Bargaining” by David Madland
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Christian Unkenholz at [email protected].