US Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against the city council of Seattle for allowing drivers of Uber and Lyft to unionize as it believes the permission violates federal antitrust laws.
US Chamber of Commerce favors Uber by filing a lawsuit against Seattle’s city council over an ordinance permitting driving partners of the American ride sharing apps - Lyft and Uber - to unionize, stating it breaches federal antitrust regulations.
In 2015, Seattle turned into the first city of the US to ratify a legislation providing driving partners for businesses like Lyft and Uber technologies the right to negotiate collectively on working conditions and pay. City officials acted amidst increasing concerns regarding how drivers are compensated.
Both the high tech cab service providers have opposed the move vigorously, claiming that local law is trumped by current federal labor legislation. The chamber which is a federation consisting of over 3 million organizations is the latest entrant into the intensifying legal war fought by a number of factions across American courts to determine whether the companies’ drivers are workers or independent contractors, and what kind of rights and benefits they must have.
The chamber has sought the suspension of the legislation. The city council unanimously approved the ordinance but the Mayor of Seattle Ed Murray opposed it. Representatives for the city council of Seattle could not be reached immediately for sharing views on March 3, 2015; officials state in December they were ready to be sued.
Labor lawyer, Richard Reibstien, who is running the independent contractor practice at Pepper Hamiton, said the legislation threatens every company represented by the chamber. The US chamber also claims that the Seattle council can’t determine a driver’s employment status prior to the decision made by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
At least four cases are being reviewed by the NLRB, which will probably take a blanket decision regarding their status. Fortune reported that member of City Council of Seattle, Mike O’Brien, initially introduced the law, for drivers to avail benefits typically provided to workers. The ordinance has not taken effect up till now and is the first of such type in the country. The lawsuit also says the Consumer Protection Act and Public Records Act of Washington are breached by the ordinance.
In other news, Cbs8.com reported that Yellow Cab is striving to get its market share from competitors, such as Lyft and Uber. San Diego Yellow Cab’s president Tony Palmeri launched the Ride Yellow app, which allows people with mobile phones to hire the nearest Yellow cab in San Diego.
The taxi company also told that contrary to the San Francisco based cab services, its drivers will need to get their backgrounds screened by the California Department of Justice.
No comments:
Post a Comment