Union Rights Without Employment Status

California’s new law lets Uber and Lyft drivers unionize and bargain collectively while still being classified as independent contractors. This decouples bargaining rights from traditional employee status and could become a template for the gig economy in other states. — It introduces a third-way labor model that may spread nationally, reshaping worker power, platform costs, and legal definitions in the gig sector.

Sources

Ubisoft Closes Game Studio Where Workers Voted to Unionize Two Weeks Ago

EditorDavid 2026.01.12 78% relevant

The existing idea tracks new legal forms of worker representation and the politics of organizing in non‑traditional sectors; this article is a direct, contemporary example of union organizing in the games industry and a corporate response that may test labour law (CWA Canada says closing for unionization is illegal). Actors: Ubisoft, CWA Canada; evidence: 74% union vote, 71 layoffs two weeks later.

California's Uber and Lyft Drivers Get Union Rights

EditorDavid 2025.10.05 100% relevant

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a measure covering 800,000 ride‑hail drivers, requiring good‑faith bargaining without reclassification; delivery apps like DoorDash are excluded.