Catherwood LibraryILR School

Earlier this month, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers reached a deal with Uber to represent the company's drivers in New York. Although the deal appeared to mark a historic moment in short term/"gig" employee labor agreements and organizing, it has been criticized as weak and as a “historic betrayal”, according to Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. Under the Machinists' agreement with Uber, drivers will be unable to unionize, strike, or press law makers to change their status from independent contractors to actual employees until at least 2020. The Machinists will be able to intervene with Uber in regards to wrongly terminated drivers and negotiating benefits, but the lackluster agreement has further divided labor activists in regards to the growing "gig" employee sector.