Ride-Share Drivers in Massachusetts Formally Unionize
Source: NYT
The App Drivers Union said it was the first organization in the country to be formally certified to represent drivers for apps such as Uber and Lyft.
By Amanda Holpuch May 25, 2026
Drivers for apps such as Uber and Lyft have unionized in Massachusetts, and will be represented by an organization that on Monday said it was the first officially recognized union in the United States to represent ride-share drivers.
In a news release, the organization, the App Drivers Union, said it would represent nearly 70,000 workers in Massachusetts who now have the power to collectively bargain.
The union can now begin contract negotiations with Uber and Lyft. Issues at the bargaining table will most likely include pay, driver safety and deactivation, which is when drivers lose access to an app.
Drivers for ride-share companies won the right to unionize in Massachusetts in November 2024 through a statewide ballot initiative. Voters backed the measure with 54 percent in support and 46 percent against. The ballot measure made it legal for ride-share drivers to organize and bargain as a collective, but did not automatically give drivers union representation.

An app drivers union in Massachusetts was certified after a ballot measure in 2024 gave the drivers the right to collectively bargain. Credit...David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe, via Getty Images
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/25/business/uber-lyft-app-drivers-union-massachusetts.html?unlocked_article_code=1.lVA.qadB.InTkicq-F-e5&smid=url-share