ST. PAUL, Minn. (KFGO/WCCO) – A bill guaranteeing Minnesota’s Lyft and Uber drivers a minimum wage and benefits passed in the state senate and is headed to the governor’s desk.
Chief author of the bill, Democratic Sen. Omar Fateh of Minneapolis said, currently, the costs of working ridesharing jobs are high, and any profits made largely go to the companies they work for.
“Everything associated with the business, they pay for,” Fateh said. “After all that’s covered, then they’re able to pay whatever is left for their food, for their families, for themselves. We thought that was immoral, and that’s one of the reasons why we stepped up.”
While officials at Lyft and Uber are encouraging Gov. Tim Walz to veto the bill, which would be his first veto in over four years, Fateh said rideshare employees put their work on hold this week to protest in favor of the bill putting their livelihood at risk.
“These are long hours that they could have been taking to do their job, to drive for Uber and Lyft,” Fateh said. “That’s a lot of lost wages.”
Primarily, the bill would mandate minimum compensation rates for drivers on a per-mile and per-minute basis.
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