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Uber Drivers Win Right to Negotiate and Form Guild in NYC

By Kathleen Culliton | May 10, 2016 4:18pm
 Uber officially recognized the Independent Drivers Guild, the company announced on Tuesday.
Uber officially recognized the Independent Drivers Guild, the company announced on Tuesday.
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NEW YORK CITY — Uber will allow its 35,000 New York City drivers to form a guild, the ride-hailing service announced Tuesday.

The Independent Drivers Guild, developed by Uber and the International Association of Machinists — which is a union— will help drivers raise concerns and collect benefits for the next five years. It will also provide Uber drivers a forum to appeal deactivations, receive discounted legal services, and collect insurance and roadside assistance, according to the Uber statement.

While the new organization is not a union, it will allow for negotiation and meetings between Uber management and its 27,000-car fleet in New York City.

That relationship has been strained since Uber cut fares by 15 percent in February. Drivers protested both the fare cut and their exclusion from the decision-making process as they are employed as independent contractors and not allowed to unionize.

“Drivers need immediate support and we truly believe that it was our responsibility to create a structure or platform to help independent drivers in New York,”  the guild's founder and International Association of Machinists vice president James Conigliaro Jr. told the New York Daily News.

Coningliaro said the guild will focus on increasing the drivers' take-home pay.

“Getting more money in driver’s pockets is the biggest concern for our organization.”

Uber adviser David Plouffe said in a statement that the agreement is part of a larger effort to improve communication between the Uber corporation and its drivers, which he acknowledged as a weakness.

“We haven’t always done a great job working with drivers,” said Plouffe. “It’s why creative, individually tailored solutions—like today’s agreement with the Machinists Union—are the best way forward.”