DFLers say they’ve reached a deal on minimum wage for Uber, Lyft drivers

Alex Derosier, Pioneer Press
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party lawmakers and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz say they’ve reached a compromise on minimum wages for ride-hailing drivers that could stop Uber and Lyft’s threats to end service in the state on July 1.

The potential deal comes after weeks of uncertainty about whether the Minnesota Legislature would preempt a minimum wage ordinance approved by the Minneapolis City Council that triggered the ride-share companies’ threats to leave in the first place.

“This was hard fought — this was not just saying no, it was the ability to try and get the ride-share companies to the table,” Walz said at a Capitol news conference late Saturday night. “Minnesotans are going to continue to be able to use the services as they see fit.”

House and Senate DFLers and the governor announced the deal as the Minnesota Legislature closed in on Sunday, its last day to pass bills in 2024. The bill would set the per-mile pay rate for ride-hailing drivers at $1.28 per mile and 31 cents per minute.

Those levels are lower than the Minneapolis ordinance minimum wage of $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute in city limits, which prompted the ride-share companies’ threats to leave in the first place. It’s set to go into effect on July 1, but if Minnesota passes its bill it will preempt the city wage. It was initially set to go into effect on May 1.

A deal on ride-share wages had eluded lawmakers in the final days of the session. A few weeks ago DFLers and the city council announced what they called a “compromise,” but Uber and Lyft said they had nothing to do with the deal.

Uber confirmed it’s on board with the deal late Saturday night, though Lyft couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, who sponsored a version of the bill last year that prompted the Uber and Lyft threats to leave, was not in the Senate on Saturday and told reporters he was working on the last-minute bill.

When he initially stepped forward to speak at the late-night news conference announcing the deal, he was overcome with emotion and embraced House rideshare bill sponsor Rep. Hodan Hassan, DFL-Minneapolis, who then initially spoke on the bill on his behalf.

“We’ve been at this for two years,” said Hassan. “This has been about fair wages, fair treatment and protecting workers.”

Fateh had been pushing for a minimum wage for ride-hailing drivers for two years. The governor vetoed his initial version last year; it was the first time Walz had ever rejected a bill.

At least one member of the Minneapolis City Council reacted negatively to the bill and its preemptions of the higher wages set by the council in March.

“Watching our (Gov. Tim Walz) cave to multibillion-dollar corporations in insisting on preempting Minneapolis is gross,” council member Aisha Chughtai said in a post on X.

Republicans said they had nothing to do with the negotiating process and didn’t know anything about the bill except what DFLers announced late Saturday night.

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said he didn’t know whether Republicans would back the deal as they haven’t been able to review the bill.

“How much more you’re going to be paying as a rider? Is it going to be twice as much now?” he said. “We need to see the language … yet we only have about 27 hours before this session is over.”

Related Articles