A year ago, a Massachusetts court ruled to throw out a 2022 proposed ballot measure that sought to define gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees. Now it appears that proposal is getting a second wind.
The state's attorney general, Andrea Campbell, on Wednesday approved backers of the ballot measure to begin collecting the tens of thousands of signatures for the measure to appear on the November 2024 ballot after certifying the questions met constitutional requirements.
Campbell also greenlit a competing ballot initiative from the union SEIU Local 32BJ that would allow drivers to unionize and bargain collectively for better working conditions and compensation.
The dueling proposals encapsulate the crux of the gig worker question. The app-based gig companies supporting the ballot initiative to keep gig workers as independent contractors argue that such a classification will enable the workers to maintain the flexible work schedules they value. Labor rights activists backing the union proposal argue companies have been failing to provide proper worker protections and benefits like workers' compensation or even a basic human wage. One 2021 study found workers in Massachusetts could earn $4.82 per hour if the previous ballot measure passed.
The proposal filed in August by Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers 2024 -- a group backed by Uber, Lyft and DoorDash -- that would classify gig workers as contractors is similar to a ballot proposal...
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