Seattle Considers Measure to Let Uber and Lyft Drivers Unionize

Re:Seattle Considers Measure to Let Uber and Lyft Drivers Un... by forrestthewoods on Monday December 14, 2015 @04:17PM (#10733941)

I've asked about this before and have never gotten a clear answer. What legislated privileges are granted? A voluntary union could still collectively bargain. They could all agree to make the same demand and all quit or strike if said demand is not met. That doesn't require federal law.

I do believe there are some protections against companies firing everyone when they attempt to collectively bargain. Which is nice I guess. But not a requirement to form an effective union.

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Re:Seattle Considers Measure to Let Uber and Lyft Drivers Un... by JoshTriplett on Monday December 14, 2015 @04:30PM (#10734045)

> I do believe there are some protections against companies firing everyone when they attempt to collectively bargain. Which is nice I guess. But not a requirement to form an effective union.

Part of the theory of a union is that the workers aren't easily replaceable as a group. Doubly so in that a company that is willing to fire N thousand people and hire replacements will likely have a harder time finding people willing to work for them. That seems sufficient to have enough bargaining clout, even with at-will employment.

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Re:Seattle Considers Measure to Let Uber and Lyft Drivers Un... by s73v3r on Monday December 14, 2015 @04:55PM (#10734235)

"A voluntary union could still collectively bargain."

And as someone else said, the company can fire the person who brought the demands to them and tell the rest of them to fuck off and get back to work, or they're next.

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Re:Seattle Considers Measure to Let Uber and Lyft Drivers Un... by forrestthewoods on Monday December 14, 2015 @05:02PM (#10734282)

Perfect. Part of being a union means being willing to collectively strike. When the company fires one person the rest of the union needs to have the resolve to stop working. This forces the company to negotiate. Or if the company can trivially replace those workers that's fine as well.

Not seeing anything here that requires legislative intervention.

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Re:Seattle Considers Measure to Let Uber and Lyft Drivers Un... by s73v3r on Monday December 14, 2015 @08:21PM (#10735339)

So using the firing of someone to intimidate everyone else is fine by you?

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Re:Seattle Considers Measure to Let Uber and Lyft Drivers Un... by forrestthewoods on Monday December 14, 2015 @10:35PM (#10735733)

I'd say it's as reasonable as workers collectively refusing to work to intimidate their employer.

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