The Teamsters’ new international president is urging Washington’s governor to veto a bill one of his local affiliates forged with Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc., a potential setback for the ride-hail companies’ efforts to secure deals shielding their business models.

“This will be the model that sets the tone for the entire country,” said Sean O’Brien, who was sworn in as international president of the Teamsters union [in March 2022]. “We’ve got to make sure we do it right.”

... The Washington bill ... would prevent ride-hail drivers from being deemed employees but would extend them new benefits such as paid sick leave and a minimum pay rate for the time they spend transporting passengers. It would also preempt cities from regulating the ride-hail companies themselves and would give drivers the option to fund a “driver resource center,” which could represent workers in contesting their terminations.

... In an emailed statement, the Seattle-based Teamsters Local 117 said the bill will guarantee Uber and Lyft drivers the highest statewide labor standards anywhere in the U.S. “Uber and Lyft drivers — like all workers — deserve a labor movement that will respect their right to self-determination to set their own priorities,” the local union’s secretary-treasurer, John Scearcy, said.