Live music, dancers & a ton of food from around the world - it doesn't get much better!

Congrats to our friends at Drivers Union on another tremendous year, protecting and expanding the rights of rideshare drivers in Washington State and beyond.

The powerhouse new union that Teamsters 117 helped spawn after more than a decade of driver organizing held its fourth annual Voices For Fairness celebration yesterday at our Union Hall in Tukwila.

Drivers were treated to a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.

With a scrumptious banquet featuring cuisine from around the world, live marimba music, and Somali and Malawian dancers, drivers packed the house to mark a number of important victories over the last year. These include:

• Helping nearly 2,000 unfairly deactivated rideshare drivers get their jobs back 
• Enrolling over 4,000 rideshare drivers in the nation’s first Paid Family & Medical Leave program for rideshare drivers 
• Winning more than $11.5 million in compensation for drivers who fought back against unfair deactivations and labor standards violations 
• Winning passage of HB 1332 to fight back against unfair vehicle removals from higher product classes

"By forming this Union, we've brought workers together to demand what's theirs," said Tsegai Abraha, a 9-year Uber and Lyft driver. "We've been able to get sick leave and paid family leave, and we've been able to challenge Uber and Lyft when they deactivate drivers. We've worked hard in a fair way for the benefit of the workers."

Drivers Union President Peter Kuel (l) together with Martha Foster Lewis, Executive Director of the WA State Coalition of African Community Leaders.

Thanks to the many community allies and elected officials who joined us at the event and have stood in solidarity with drivers over the years. As the old African proverb reminds us, 'If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.'