South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a “gig economy” enthusiast, rallied with Uber and Lyft drivers in San Francisco who demanded the ability to unionize.
The White House hopeful on Tuesday, along with the rideshare drivers, protested near Uber’s headquarters on Tenth Street and blocked several lanes on Market Street, causing traffic congestion, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“I am here because where I come from, gig is another word for job — which means if you’re working a gig, that makes you a worker, and you ought to be protected as a worker. That means you deserve a minimum wage, that means you deserve protections from workplace and sexual harassment, that means you deserve overtime protections — and yes, that means you deserve a union,” Buttigieg said to the crowd of drivers on Market Street.
Late last month Buttigieg introduced his plan to broaden union regulations for “gig” economy workers such as Uber and Lyft drivers.
Buttigieg’s proposal would make it harder for the rideshare companies to call their drivers independent contractors, thereby giving them a minimum wage salary and overtime.
The California demonstrations are in support of Assembly Bill 5, legislation being debated in the California legislature. The bill would essentially make it more difficult for companies to use independent contractors as full-time workers. The bill has already passed in the state assembly and in a committee in the Senate chamber.
However, opponents of the bill say it would destroy many businesses and harm workers who want the convenience of setting their own work timetable.
