MINNEAPOLIS — As promised, a majority of the Minneapolis City Council stood united Thursday, voting to override a veto by Mayor Jacob Frey and intact an ordinance that increases pay for rideshare drivers.
By scuttling Frey's veto, council members enacted the Transportation Driver Worker Protections Ordinance, which calls for increasing the pay of Uber and Lyft drivers to $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute for all portions of a ride taking place in Minneapolis.
Councilman Jamal Osman said in a news release announcing the override that the ordinance requires Transportation Network Companies (TNC) like Uber and Lyft to pay driver rates equivalent to the city's current $15.57 per hour minimum wage.
“Drivers are human beings with families and they deserve dignified minimum wages like all other workers. Today’s vote showed Uber, Lyft, and the Mayor that the Minneapolis City Council will not allow the East African community, or any community, to be exploited for cheap labor," said co-author Jamal Osman. "The Council chooses workers over corporate greed.”
Frey vetoed the ordinance when it was first passed, expressing frustration with the council for scheduling the vote just one day before a long-awaited report from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry delving deeper into the matter of pay for TNC drivers.
The Mayor then called for today's special meeting of the city council to consider the veto.
Speaking at a press conference after Thursday's City Council meeting, Frey pointed to a statewide wage report that was released last Friday, questioning why the Council did not wait for it's release. That report included data on millions of rides.
"If I'm weighing the two, am I going to pass policy based on 18 million rides on one side or zero on the other," Frey said. "I'm going with 18 million."
Uber released a statement immediately following the override vote saying it would stop operating across the entire metro area - including service to the airport - when the ordinance takes effect May 1.
“We are disappointed the Council chose to ignore the data and kick Uber out of the Twin Cities, putting 10,000 people out of work and leaving many stranded," the Uber statement read. "But we know that by working together with all stakeholders - drivers, riders and state leaders - we can achieve comprehensive statewide legislation that guarantees drivers a fair minimum wage, protects their independence and keeps rideshare affordable.”
Lyft also vowed to leave the city at the start of May:
"This ordinance is deeply flawed, and the rates it sets are far higher than what the state's study suggested. We support a minimum earning standard for drivers, but it should be done in an honest way that keeps the service affordable for riders. This ordinance makes our operations unsustainable, and as a result, we are shutting down operations in Minneapolis when the law takes effect on May 1. We will continue to advocate for a statewide solution in Minnesota that balances the needs of riders and drivers and hope to return to Minneapolis as soon as possible."
Councilperson Emily Koski noted in a media release that the Minnesota Legislature is currently working on a bill that would set a minimum wage for TNC drivers statewide, saying the version that recently passed committees in both the House and Senate calls for wages "within pennies" of the ordinance passed in Minneapolis.
"The city has a minimum wage and labor standards - and we shouldn't make exceptions to those basic worker rights and protections, Koski wrote.
Koski said if the bill does pass and becomes law, the city can amend its ordinance to match state rates.
Eid Ali, President of the Minnesota Uber Lyft Driver's Association, says they're not finished yet, and want to continue pushing for changes for rideshare drivers.
"We hope that the state will listen to what Minneapolis did, and they take this as an example," Ali said.
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