The Minneapolis City Council has voted to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of a new ordinance setting minimum pay for rideshare drivers.
Thursday’s vote marked the biggest win to date for Twin Cities rideshare drivers who have been organizing for the past two years.
The council, without discussion, voted 10-3 to override the veto at a special session Thursday.
The ordinance sets a pay rate of $1.40 per mile and $0.51 per minute, or $5, whichever is higher, for the time transporting a rider within city limits.
Council Member Emily Koski was the lone member to switch sides. She had said she would reconsider her vote against the measure last week after a state report on driver compensation came out.
Rideshare drivers pushing for increased wages at the state and city level have faced three vetoes in the last year: one from Gov. Tim Walz and two from Frey.
Thursday’s special session was scheduled without a time for discussion. As soon as the meeting commenced, the rules of the override vote were explained and roll was called.
As soon as nine council members voted to override the veto, the council chambers erupted with celebration.
“People won over corporations,” yelled one Uber driver.
Eid Ali, president of the Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association, held back tears as he hugged other rideshare drivers.
“I’m overwhelmingly excited. … This is something that I fought for the last two years,” Eid said.
The ordinance would also set minimum compensation for rideshare drivers transporting a rider in a wheelchair-accessible vehicle at $1.81 per mile and $0.51 per minute, or $5, whichever is greater.
It’s set to take effect on May 1.
Council Member Robin Wonsley, the chief author of the ordinance, took time after the vote to thank drivers and supporters. She described the struggle between rideshare drivers and their employers as “David versus Goliath.”
“Today’s vote demonstrated that all of this was just a question of political will. I’m so proud to have worked with these drivers every step of the way to make today’s victory a reality,” Wonsley said.
Council President Elliott Payne said Uber came to Minneapolis nearly a decade ago while “ignoring” regulations.
“They were able to capture our entire city and every single driver to serve the needs but also at the expense of the drivers, and today we said we’re gonna put our drivers first,” Payne said.
Rideshare drivers are still considered contractors and their employers aren’t required to pay them the city’s minimum wage of $15.57 an hour.
Immediately following the vote, Uber said in a statement that the company planned to leave the Twin Cities.
“We are disappointed the Council chose to ignore the data and kick Uber out of the Twin Cities, putting 10,000 people out of work and leaving many stranded,” Uber said.
The statement also said Uber is willing to work with state legislators to pass statewide legislation that guarantees drivers a fair minimum wage, protects their independence and keeps rideshare affordable.
Josh Gold, an Uber spokesperson, added there’s been cases where Uber left but came back, as it did when Texas preempted local regulations in Austin.
CJ Macklin, a Lyft spokesman, confirmed Lyft also would exit the Minneapolis market on May 1.
“We will continue to advocate for a statewide solution in Minnesota that balances the needs of riders and drivers and hope to return to Minneapolis as soon as possible,” he said.
Several other rideshare companies have expressed interest in operating in the city should Uber and Lyft leave. None is ready to begin operations.
At a news conference after the override vote, Frey said other rideshare companies couldn’t get up and running in the short window before Uber and Lyft exited the market.
“Every attempt to work together and to collaborate was also ignored,” he said.
Frey said the reason he expedited the vote was because he wanted to have as much time as possible to work on filling the gap left by rideshare companies should they leave the city, which he said would have a massive impact on residents and visitors.
“The analysis in the report does not support a policy decision that the council have made. Again, not my opinion here, check the report,” Frey said.
Statewide analysis
Before the Minneapolis ordinance was approved, critics called for a postponement of the vote in order to give council members time to review a soon to be published report from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry that focused on rideshare company earnings statewide.
The study analyzed extensive data provided by Uber and Lyft on more than 18 million Minnesota trips and driver earnings for 2022. It also looked at surveys completed by 1,827 Minnesota rideshare drivers.
A key finding in the report is that the median hourly wage for drivers in the Twin Cities is $13.63 after factoring in drivers’ out-of-pocket expenses.
While the Minneapolis City Council voted to approve their compensation ordinance before reviewing the report, state lawmakers are using it as a guide as they begin crafting their bill.
State Senator Omar Fateh, in a post on X, applauded drivers organizing in Minneapolis after the veto override vote while saying drivers in the city took on the rideshare companies and won.
Eid said after drivers won in Minneapolis, they’d keep working to get better wages statewide.
“We’ll keep on moving, mobilizing drivers, educating them, bringing them to the state, and telling them what they need to do in order to also get a statewide thing,” Eid said.
