I am an Uber driver and a longtime Greenfield resident. On the days that I choose to drive, I start in Greenfield (I rarely get rides locally, though).
Uber and Lyft treat drivers poorly. In most states pay is inconsistent and often below minimum wage (even though we are responsible to fund a vehicle). In critical areas, they are periodically deceptive and arbitrary.
In Massachusetts though, we are paid fairly. The state recently negotiated with Uber/Lyft for a guaranteed pay of $32.50 an hour of “active time.” Active time includes time picking up and then driving riders to their destination. It does not include time while we are waiting for a ride to be assigned. In practice in western Massachusetts, on most days, that results in an average of approximately $22-$23 an hour, in my experience. It’s not great pay, but for a flexible gig, it’s OK. A union could not improve on that.
The majority of Uber drivers do not want to be classified as an employee (implied with union designation), with the implications that we work under Uber/Lyft managerial supervision, meaning that Uber chooses the hours that we work, where we site. Uber will not pay for the vehicles, we do. We are independent contractors.
Ironically, although the presence of a union suggests that our pay would increase, that is unlikely in Massachusetts, and it is likely that we will incur some union-related fees and, most importantly, we would lose a critical federal tax deduction of 67 cents per mile for mileage driven, which is not available to employees. So, we would be taxed on the gross amount of money that we receive with no ability to deduct for business expenses. At a minimum, our self-employment tax will increase significantly.
Last year, I made $40,000 gross pay from Uber, and drove 50,000 miles, resulting in a tax deduction of $37,500, $2,500 taxable income or $400 self-employment tax. If I was taxed on the $40,000 gross pay as a W-2 employee, my FICA tax on that would be $3,200.
By having a union and being classified as an employee, my compensation as an Uber driver would decrease by at least 7%.
So, why would I in my wildest imagination want a union? And why would anyone claiming to advocate to improve our compensation and working conditions imagine that they are doing that?
Richard Witty lives in Greenfield.