San Francisco Oakland San Jose, CA, August 9, 2026 —

The California Gig Workers Union (CGWU) has reportedly met the necessary support threshold to potentially establish a union for hundreds of thousands of independent contractors in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area. The unionization effort targets drivers for major ride-hailing companies, including Uber and Lyft.

This development marks a significant step in the long-standing campaign by gig workers to secure collective bargaining rights, which could lead to improved pay and benefits. The potential unionization is facilitated by a new state law, identified as AB 1340.

Previously, efforts by drivers to organize and gain bargaining power faced considerable challenges. Measures such as Proposition 22 had a notable impact on the landscape for independent contractors in the state.

The CGWU’s achievement of the support threshold signifies a potential shift in the operational and labor dynamics for ride-hailing services in one of California’s major metropolitan regions. The specific details regarding the number of drivers who have expressed support or the exact timeline for further unionization steps were not immediately available.

The new state law, AB 1340, appears to have created a pathway for these independent contractors to collectively negotiate terms of employment. This contrasts with previous legal and legislative battles that often classified drivers as independent contractors, limiting their ability to unionize under traditional labor laws.

Further developments are anticipated as the CGWU moves forward with its efforts to formalize the union and engage in collective bargaining with ride-hailing companies operating in the region.



Story summarized from the original created by Samantha Kennedy on ww2.kqed.org, see more information here.

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