Massachusetts Certifies App Drivers Union, Giving 70,000 Uber and Lyft Drivers the Right to Bargain

Massachusetts has formally certified the App Drivers Union as the exclusive bargaining representative for Uber and Lyft drivers statewide, giving roughly 70,000 rideshare drivers the right to negotiate under a new state law.

State officials and contemporaneous reporting have described the move as the first certified statewide union of Uber and Lyft drivers in the United States under a formal state statutory process. The certification, issued by the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations, means the union can now bargain with the companies over issues the law allows, including pay, benefits, deactivation standards and dispute-resolution procedures.

The certification followed a notice the labor relations department posted May 15 saying the App Drivers Union had been designated by at least 25% of active rideshare drivers, the threshold required under the Massachusetts law to win certification without a secret-ballot election. The law also required a seven-day waiting period before certification could take effect.

The App Drivers Union is backed by 32BJ SEIU and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Brian Bryant, president of the machinists union, said in a statement reported by Reuters: “The workers who built these billion-dollar corporations deserve a union contract and a seat at the table.”

Uber said it would engage in the new process while emphasizing protections it says matter to drivers and riders. “Together, we will ensure that driver flexibility and hard-won benefits remain the foundation of our progress, while upholding the highest standards of safety, data security, transparency and public accountability,” an Uber spokesperson told WBUR. Lyft said in a statement reported by Reuters that it would stay focused on helping drivers succeed while keeping rideshare “affordable and dependable.”

The certification creates a new kind of bargaining relationship, not a traditional workplace union election under federal labor law. Instead, Massachusetts voters approved a 2024 law, Chapter 252, that created a sector-wide bargaining system specifically for app-based drivers while preserving their status outside traditional employee unionization rules.

Under that framework, a union can be certified once it shows support from at least 25% of active drivers. Any deal reached later would not automatically take effect. It would first have to be ratified by eligible drivers and approved by the Massachusetts secretary of labor. Drivers eligible to vote on an agreement are those who completed at least 100 rides in the prior quarter.

The certification also builds on an earlier round of state intervention in the industry. In June 2024, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced a settlement with Uber and Lyft over misclassification and wage claims. That agreement established a minimum earnings standard and other protections for drivers, creating a statewide baseline before collective bargaining began.

What happens next is defined by the law. The union and the companies now have 180 days from certification to bargain. If they do not reach agreement within that window, mediation and arbitration mechanisms in the statute can be triggered.

Even if negotiations produce recommendations on pay, benefits or discipline procedures, the result would still face two more tests before becoming final: approval by drivers who meet the voting threshold and signoff from the state labor secretary. For now, the immediate change is that Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts have a certified statewide representative at the bargaining table.