Uber Black drivers fight for unionization at labour board hearing
Posted June 5, 2020 11:38 am.
Last Updated June 5, 2020 11:50 am.
Toronto drivers for Uber Technologies Inc.’s premium Black service are fighting to bring themselves one stop closer to unionization.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union is appearing in a virtual Ontario Labour Relations Board hearing today to represent Uber Black limousine and SUV drivers working in and out of Toronto Pearson International Airport and downtown Toronto.
The union applied for unionization in January on behalf of 300 of those workers and believes it has met the threshold of support needed to gain certification as the official bargaining agent of the drivers.
Uber told The Canadian Press that the benchmark is 40 per cent of the Black service drivers, which it disputes has been met.
The union believes the board’s decision could help gig workers driving for Uber get recognized as employees of the popular ride-hailing app.
Their battle comes after Foodora shut down in Canada in May, months after the board ruled the food delivery app’s workers more closely resemble employees than independent contractors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2020.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
