Legislation to realize California rideshare drivers’ decade-long fight for a voice in improving their work conditions and shaping their industry cleared its first hurdle today, receiving overwhelming support in the Assembly’s Committee on Labor. AB 1340 (Wicks, Berman) will give California’s more than 800,000 rideshare drivers the opportunity to form a union and negotiate with corporations like Uber and Lyft over their pay and working conditions.

“I learned quickly not to trust the promises made by rideshare companies; they said driving was a dream job but for many of us trying to support families, over time it’s started to become a nightmare,” said Patti Ybarra, who has been driving for Uber for seven years. “The pay has kept ticking down and the percentage I was seeing per ride was getting smaller and smaller. The promise of flexible hours isn’t a reality when you have to drive all day and night just to eke out a minimal existence. With a voice in a union, drivers like me will have the opportunity to make gig jobs better jobs, with a fair share of the revenues Uber and Lyft produce off our labor.”

More than 800,000 drivers currently have no ability to improve their pay and working conditions, and more Californians are turning to gig work and even more turning to Uber and Lyft as a means for transportation. AB 1340 would not only give drivers a choice to unite in a union for more power to fight for improved pay and working conditions, but protect drivers from retaliation for organizing. Rideshare drivers say a union would be good for drivers and riders alike; with a union, drivers will have the ability to sit down at the bargaining table with companies to demand greater transparency in fares for drivers and riders. Today, riders have no idea what share of their dollars actually make it to drivers.

AB 1340 now moves to appropriations for a vote, and if passed, to a floor vote by the Assembly.