Seattle sued over city ordinance that allows Uber, Lyft drivers to unionize

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Source: Reuters

Seattle sued over city ordinance that allows Uber, Lyft drivers to unionize

Reuters
Friday 4 March 2016 02.46 GMT

The US Chamber of Commerce sued the city of Seattle on Thursday over an ordinance that allows drivers of ride-hailing apps Uber and Lyft to unionize, saying it violates federal antitrust laws.

Seattle last year became the first US city to pass a law giving drivers for companies such as Uber and Lyft, as well as taxis and for-hire drivers, the right to collectively negotiate on pay and working conditions.

City officials took action amid growing concerns about how drivers are compensated. Both Uber and Lyft vigorously opposed the measure, arguing that existing federal labor law trumps local legislation.

The chamber, a federation of more than 3m businesses, is the newest entry into the growing legal battle being waged by numerous factions in courts across the US over whether the drivers are independent contractors or employees, and what sort of benefits and rights they should have.

“Seattle and thousands of other municipalities would be free to adopt their own disparate regulatory regimes, which would ... inhibit the free flow of commerce among private service providers around the Nation,” according to the lawsuit, filed in US district court in Seattle.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/03/uber-lyft-seattle-lawsuit-us-chamber-of-commerce-unions

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1. The same group which fought the elimination of tax breaks for companies

that export jobs.