Governor, Senate and Assembly deliver landmark solutions in partnership with SEIU California, Uber and Lyft that will provide a pathway to unionization for more than 800,000 workers and bring down the cost of rideshare services
- Nick Miller
- Communications Director
- 916-319-2029
- Nick.Miller@asm.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO — Fulfilling a promise to address everyday affordability for millions of Californians, the Governor, Senate Pro Tem and Assembly Speaker are proud to announce support for AB 1340 (Wicks, Berman), which is sponsored by SEIU California; and SB 371 (Cabaldon), sponsored by Uber and Lyft.
“This is a historic agreement between workers and business that only California could deliver,” Governor Gavin Newsom said. “Labor and industry sat down together, worked through their differences, and found common ground that will empower hundreds of thousands of drivers while making rideshare more affordable for millions of Californians. It’s proof that California can do big things, tackle tough issues, and improve peoples’ lives.”
“For almost a decade, thousands of drivers have fought for a better life. A way forward to the middle class,” Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire said. “This agreement represents one of the largest in American history - 800,000 Californians who work behind the wheel will now have a path to higher wages, health benefits, and workplace rights. This a big damn deal, uplifting workers and the Golden State’s economy.”
“This is momentous. Hundreds of thousands of California gig workers are headed toward better pay, and Uber and Lyft rides will be more affordable for millions of residents,” Speaker Robert Rivas said. “While Trump is stripping workers of bargaining rights and rolling-back protections, California is fighting for lower prices and empowering working families. What a way to celebrate Labor Day weekend.”
Assembly Bill 1340 will create an opportunity for the largest organizing effort in a generation by enabling rideshare drivers to have a voice in the future of their industry, and provides a historic pathway for California’s more than 800,000 rideshare drivers to have the choice to join a union and negotiate for better wages, benefits, and protections. Through the passage of this framework, the state will place power in the hands of a quarter-million workers to raise the bar in their industry and create a model for an equitable and innovative partnership with California’s technology sector.
Senate Bill 371 will reduce the cost of providing rideshare services for Californians and remove the burdensome requirement that rideshare drivers carry $1 million in coverage for accidents caused by other drivers who are uninsured or under-insured — a cost that today is passed on to riders. The agreement calls for $60,000 in uninsured motorist coverage per individual and $300,000 per accident.
What Legislation Authors Say
“This is a huge deal for hundreds of thousands of California workers and millions of California consumers,” said Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park). "Rideshare drivers are the backbone of the gig economy, and AB 1340 rightfully provides these drivers with a role in deciding the future of an industry for which they are taking on the risk, getting on the road, and working long hours. With the strength of a union, workers can build a fair and sustainable gig economy that works for everyone.”
“Millions of Californians now depend on rideshare services for essential trips to work, medical appointments, and the grocery store,” said Senator Christopher Cabaldon (D-Yolo). “Fare increases are making this vital transportation service more expensive and forcing more families to make hard choices to stay home or cut other essentials. SB 371 will cut fares by eliminating outsized insurance requirements that don’t apply to any other forms of transportation, such as taxis, buses, or limos.”
“This is a massive win for Californians whether they are behind the wheel or riding in the back seat,” said Asm Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland). “Hundreds of thousands of hardworking women and men, many of them immigrants, seniors, people working two or three jobs to make ends meet, now have a seat at the table in the fight for fairer wages and better working conditions. And their passengers hailing a ride to the grocery store, school, or to a doctor's appointment will see the fares for those rides decrease. I am grateful to the Governor, legislative leaders, and partners in labor and the tech sector who worked to make this possible.”
What Legislation Sponsors Say
"This deal is a major victory for both riders and drivers in California,” said Nick Johnson, Director of Public Policy at Lyft. “By bringing runaway insurance costs under control, we can help maintain the affordability of rideshare without sacrificing proper protections, allowing people to more easily get to medical appointments, the airport or simply to work every morning. And more rides mean more earnings for drivers to help them achieve their goals. We're proud to support legislation that allows us to better serve and connect Californians across the state."
“Sacramento has come together around the need to make rideshare more affordable in California, and we’re encouraged to see these two bills advancing in tandem. Together, they represent a compromise that lowers costs for riders while creating stronger voices for drivers—demonstrating how industry, labor, and lawmakers can work together to deliver real solutions that reflect how people live, work, and move today,” said Ramona Prieto, Uber’s Head of Public Policy for California.
“Gig workers have been fighting, organizing, and advocating for years, because for too long, the industry’s giants have handed workers a raw deal: you do all the work and take all the risks, while corporations make all the decisions and reap the lion’s share of the rewards. That stops with AB 1340,” said Tia Orr, Executive Director of SEIU California, the sponsor of AB 1340 and voice of 750,000 workers in the State Capitol. “While Trump tears down unions and hands more power to corporations, California is showing that building a worker-first economy is possible only when we put workers in the drivers’ seat.”
About the Landmark Legislation
AB 1340, the Transportation Network Company (TNC) Drivers Labor Relations Act, establishes a legal framework to protect the rights of TNC drivers to organize, choose their union, and to negotiate the terms and conditions of their work with transportation network companies. The act also sets forth detailed procedures for certification of driver organizations, negotiation processes, and enforcement mechanisms, aiming to improve drivers' working conditions while balancing compliance with existing laws like Prop. 22.
SB 371 reduces the $1 million requirement for uninsured motorist coverage and aims to keep rideshare as an affordable transportation option.
In practice, rideshare companies rather than drivers have provided this coverage, and the cost has been passed along to consumers in fees.
The $1 million requirement for uninsured motorist coverage was established when rideshare was an industry in its infancy, and before 10 years of data demonstrated that it was unnecessarily high. Even with the change, the insurance requirements for rideshare vehicles remain substantially higher than those for private drivers, who are not required to carry uninsured motorist coverage at all, and higher than those for buses, taxis, or limos.
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About Assemblymember Buffy Wicks
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks represents California’s 14th Assembly District, which includes all or portions of the cities of Oakland, Richmond, Berkeley, Piedmont, Albany, El Cerrito, San Pablo, Pinole, El Sobrante, Hercules, Kensington, and Rodeo. You can learn more about Assemblymember Wicks at http://a14.asmdc.org.
About Assemblymember Marc Berman
Assemblymember Marc Berman represents the 23rd Assembly District, which includes southern San Mateo County and northern Santa Clara County in the heart of the Silicon Valley. You can learn more about Assemblymember Berman at www.assembly.ca.gov/Berman.
About Senator Christopher Cabaldon
Senator Christopher Cabaldon represents the 3rd Senate District which includes the cities of Oakley and Brentwood in Contra Costa County; American Canyon, Calistoga, Napa, Yountville, and St. Helena in Napa County; Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville, and Vallejo, in Solano County; Cotati, Rohnert Park, and Sonoma in Sonoma County; Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland in Yolo County; as well as Isleton in Sacramento County. You can learn more about Senator Cabaldon at https://sd03.senate.ca.gov/
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For more information, follow Speaker Robert Rivas at the following social media channels:
Instagram: @caspeakerrivas
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CASpeakerRivas/