We're asking every Seattle City Councilmember & candidate to add their name to the passenger/driver Bill of Rights and show they support innovative approaches to close this $51 billion loophole in the basic rights of passengers and drivers.
Hundreds of people have already added their names to the passenger/driver Bill of Rights, which spells out basic principles that everyone in the Uber economy should be able to expect — like safe transportation, living wages, open communication, privacy, nondiscrimination, and a voice in the rules.
But too many of these rights aren't yet reflected in the law. That's because Uber & Lyft take advantage of a loophole to classify their drivers as “independent contractors” rather than employees — even though the app companies have total control over access to customers, they get to set the minimum payment for a ride, the pay per mile and per minute, and they set the price of insurance. (And even though the companies can change the pay whenever they want.)
By working this loophole, these companies avoid the responsibilities that other employers have to their employees — including fundamental rights like minimum wage and the right to organize. Meanwhile, Uber alone was recently valued at $51 billion.
Uber & Lyft offer extraordinary convenience — but corporate loopholes aren't an innovation. Passengers have a right to know that their fare dollars are going to support good jobs and living wages for drivers, not just multi-billion-dollar valuations for investors in the app-based economy.
That's why we're asking every Seattle City Councilmember & candidates to add their name to this Bill of Rights and show they support innovative approaches to close this $51 billion loophole in the basic rights of passengers and drivers.
And stay tuned — we'll be keeping track below of which councilmembers and candidates add their names to the passenger/driver Bill of Rights.
Seattle City Council Candidates
District 1:
- Shannon Braddock: signed the Bill of Rights
- Lisa Herbold: signed the Bill of Rights
District 2:
- Bruce Harrell: signed the Bill of Rights
- Tammy Morales: signed the Bill of Rights
District 3:
- Pamela Banks: signed the Bill of Rights
- Kshama Sawant: signed the Bill of Rights
District 4:
- Rob Johnson: signed the Bill of Rights
- Michael Maddux: signed the Bill of Rights
District 5:
- Sandy Brown: signed the Bill of Rights
- Debora Juarez: signed the Bill of Rights
District 6:
- Mike O'Brien: signed the Bill of Rights
- Catherine Weatbrook: signed the Bill of Rights
District 7:
- Sally Bagshaw
- Deborah Zech-Artis
Position 8:
- Tim Burgess: signed the Bill of Rights
- Jon Grant: signed the Bill of Rights
Position 9:
- Bill Bradburd: signed the Bill of Rights
- Lorena González: signed the Bill of Rights
Other current councilmembers:
- Jean Godden
- Nick Licata
- John Okamoto
- Tom Rasmussen