(BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS) - In a watershed moment for the Nation’s Labor Movement, Rideshare Drivers in Massachusetts with the App Drivers Union (ADU) have become the first Statewide Rideshare Union in the country to win official recognition, creating a path toward negotiating better pay, job protections on behalf of nearly 70,000 Rideshare Drivers across The Commonwealth. 

At a rally Tuesday (May 26th), Rideshare Drivers - alongside allies Governor Maura Healey, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President April Verrett and International Association of Machinists (IAM) International President Brian Bryant, marked the historic turning point for the modern-day Labor Movement and major step forward in the fight to hold Big Tech companies accountable. 

Rideshare Drivers in Massachusetts are the largest private workforce to win Union recognition since the United Auto Workers (UAW) at Ford in 1941.

With as many as 70,000 Rideshare Drivers in Massachusetts, recognition of their Union is a historic win for Working People that gives momentum to the nationwide push among Rideshare Drivers for Union Rights.

Victoria Acosta, a Member Leader of the App Drivers Union, said: “I never dreamed that this day would happen. I once thought it was impossible that we would have a seat at the table with these two big corporations in front of us - but nothing is impossible when you are united. For me, it’s a dream come true, seeing the hard work of all my Colleagues collecting cards, talking to the drivers and making sure we can achieve what we dream.”

Following Union recognition, Drivers with the ADU will begin contract negotiations with the Rideshare Companies where they will seek to raise standards around pay, safety and deactivations.

In doing so, Rideshare Drivers will pave a path for millions of Drivers across the country to join together, organize a Union and win important protections on the job. 

Rideshare Drivers in the Commonwealth first made history in November 2024 when they won Union rights through the passage of Question 3.

In the months since, rideshare Drivers have organized by the thousands through conversations in airport parking lots, car washes, stadiums, churches, community centers and more.

A defining feature of the Massachusetts law is its mandate Rideshare Companies come to the table and bargain in good faith.

Unlike organizing under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the voter-approved law includes interest arbitration.

If the ADU and the companies do not reach an agreement within six months, the dispute goes to an independent arbitrator to help set the terms of a CBA, which avoids the often-protracted fights and barriers Workers have to overcome to reach a first contract. 

To Continue Reading This Labor News Story, Go To: Massachusetts Rideshare Drivers Make History as App Drivers Union Becomes First Certified Union of Rideshare Drivers in U.S. - IAM Union