Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota on Thursday vetoed a invoice that may have assured a minimal wage and different protections for Uber and Lyft drivers.
“Journey-share drivers deserve secure working situations and truthful wages, and I’m dedicated to discovering options to those points that stability the pursuits of all Minnesotans, drivers and riders alike,” Mr. Walz, a Democrat, wrote in a letter to the speaker of the Minnesota Home of Representatives. However he mentioned that the laws, which handed the state legislature final week, “just isn’t the proper invoice to attain these targets.”
The invoice had been seen as a major victory for labor advocates, who’ve been combating for better advantages for gig drivers throughout the nation. Uber and Lyft deal with their drivers as impartial contractors slightly than workers, that means the drivers are accountable for their very own bills and don’t obtain well being care or different advantages. The businesses say their enterprise mannequin permits drivers to keep up the pliability they need.
The laws would have required Uber and Lyft to pay their drivers at the least $1.45 per mile they drive with a passenger, or $1.34 per mile outdoors the Minneapolis-St. Paul space, in addition to $0.34 per minute. It additionally would have established a evaluate course of letting drivers protest instances the place they have been deactivated from the platforms.
Mr. Walz sided with the arguments of Uber and Lyft, which mentioned the minimal pay was too excessive for a area like Minnesota and would require them to drastically curtail their ride-sharing companies within the state as prices elevated for riders.
Earlier on Thursday, Uber mentioned it might pull out of Minnesota originally of August if the invoice handed, leaving solely its premium service within the state’s largest metropolitan area.
“This invoice may make Minnesota one of the costly states within the nation for journey share, doubtlessly placing us on par with the price of rides in New York Metropolis and Seattle — cities with dramatically increased prices of residing than Minnesota,” Mr. Walz wrote in his letter.
Except for the veto — his first — Mr. Walz additionally issued an govt order establishing a fee to review the ride-share enterprise in Minnesota and advocate coverage adjustments to make sure drivers obtain truthful compensation.
Uber cheered the information and mentioned it might help a distinct invoice that may provide barely decrease minimal pay and be sure that drivers have been labeled as impartial contractors slightly than workers in Minnesota, a longstanding objective of the corporate that it has superior in different states.
“We admire the chance to get this proper, and hope the legislature shortly passes a compromise in February,” mentioned Freddi Goldstein, an Uber spokeswoman.
CJ Macklin, a Lyft spokesman, added that “lawmakers ought to move truthful pay and different protections, nevertheless it should be executed in a manner that doesn’t jeopardize the affordability and security of those that depend on the service.”
State Senator Omar Fateh, an creator of the invoice, criticized Mr. Walz’s determination on Twitter.
“In the present day, we noticed the facility firms maintain on our authorities,” he wrote. “The struggle just isn’t over, and I promise you I gained’t again down.”
