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More Than 100,000 Rideshare Drivers Win Union Rights in Illinois, Rideshare Drivers’ Union Bill
In final hours of 2026 Illinois Legislative Session…History Made as More Than 100,000 Rideshare Drivers Win Union Rights in Illinois, Rideshare Drivers’ Union Bill Heads to Governor Pritzker’s Desk. Landmark Illinois legislation builds on the momentum from the Massachusetts rideshare union victory and positions drivers across the country to organize for fair wages, safety protections, and dignity on the job.
In a historic moment for the nation’s labor movement and the State of Illinois, the Illinois Transportation Network Driver Labor Relations Act (HB 5090), also known as the Rideshare Drivers’ Union Bill, passed both chambers of the Illinois State Legislature this weekend, giving more than 100,000 rideshare drivers statewide the right to form a union.
The legislation sponsored by State Senator Ram Villivalam and State Representative Yolonda Morris will now head to Governor JB Pritzker’s desk and would establish one of the strongest frameworks in the country for rideshare drivers to organize and bargain collectively.
The victory follows a multi-year-long organizing campaign led by drivers of the Illinois Drivers Alliance who made calls, shared personal stories, rallied, and lobbied at the Illinois State Capitol.
Rideshare drivers helped power Illinois’ transportation industry, safely taking millions of people to work, school, doctors’ appointments, and home at night.
Yet drivers continued to experience unsafe working conditions, subminimum wages, and the full brunt of responsibility for car payments, gas, and maintenance. Today, workers won the right to say no more and collectively bargain for higher standards on the job.
This legislative session focused on affordability for working people, and this historic bill helps restore balance and lift up working families. With more than 60% of all rideshare drivers living in zip codes with incomes below the Illinois median – even though rideshare drivers generate $7.7 billion in annual economic output and contribute more than $518 million in combined state and local tax revenue each year – this victory will reach far beyond drivers alone. When drivers earn more, that money is spent back in local communities at grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, childcare centers, and small businesses across Illinois, helping strengthen local economies and support working families in every corner of our state.
With the bill’s passage, Illinois joins Massachusetts at the forefront of a growing national movement to secure union rights for app-based workers and hold billion-dollar corporations like Lyft and Uber accountable. Momentum for rideshare drivers is growing across the country. Just days ago, 70,000 rideshare drivers in Massachusetts, represented by the App Drivers Union (ADU), secured union recognition and will begin bargaining a historic first contract. California drivers also won the right to unionize at the end of last year.
The Rideshare Drivers’ Union Bill establishes industry-wide sectoral bargaining standards, ensuring that drivers and companies negotiate over the core issues that define pay, safety, and working conditions across the industry including:
- Compensation
- Benefits
- Insurance coverage for occupational accidents or injuries
- Compensation or supplemental insurance for job loss
- Paid leave
- Appeals process for deactivations
- Representation of TNC drivers in deactivation appeals
- Information disclosed to TNC drivers about trips on a per-trip basis
- Grievance and arbitration procedures to resolve disputes arising under the sectoral agreement
- Safety mandates
- Labor-Management Committees
- And more
In addition to bill sponsors Senator Villivalam and Representative Morris, the Illinois Drivers Alliance thanks Senate President Don Harmon, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, Governor JB Pritzker, and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton for their leadership in getting this historic legislation across the finish line.
“For too long, rideshare drivers have generated billions in wealth for major corporations without the same rights as every other worker in the U.S. to form a union and gain a voice in the decisions that impact their livelihoods,” said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. “By passing the Rideshare Drivers’ Union Rights Bill, Illinois has created a pathway for drivers to build collective power and negotiate for the dignity and economic security they deserve. The IAM Union is proud to stand with these drivers as they make history and help shape the future of workers organizing in America.”
“This victory belongs to the drivers. Not the billionaires. Not the corporations. Not those who refused to believe a path to unionize in the gig economy was possible,” said April Verrett, President of the Service Employees International Union. “I’m proud of my home state of Illinois and I’m inspired by the 100,000 rideshare drivers who’ve taken a giant leap toward the money, power, and respect they deserve. From Massachusetts to Illinois to California, a movement is rising. Rideshare drivers are organizing and winning. If rideshare drivers can organize, the question is no longer whether workers can win. The question is: who’s next?”
“Unions are the backbone of our workforce, ensuring laborers are supported and afforded strong workers’ rights, environments, and benefits. Rideshare drivers are an important part of our transportation infrastructure – yet they currently lack the ability to negotiate for better wages, benefits, and working conditions,” said Sponsor and State Senator Ram Villivalam (IL-08). “This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ensure Illinois continues to be a leader in labor rights and pave the way to bolster a growing part of our workforce, economy and transportation network who are facing decreased wages, increased vehicle costs and unfair working conditions.”
“Every corner of Illinois depends on rideshare drivers to get people to work, school, medical appointments, airports, and safely home at night,” said Sponsor and State Representative Yolonda Morris (IL-09). “As a former CNA and union organizer, I’ve seen firsthand what it means when workers have a voice on the job and what happens when they don’t, and that is why it was extremely important to move the Rideshare Drivers’ Union Bill because every worker deserves the fundamental right to form a union. Rideshare drivers are our neighbors, constituents, and family members, and today, they finally have the same right to organize and collectively bargain as every other worker in our state. I am proud to stand with the Illinois Drivers Alliance to pass this critical legislation.”
“One of the hardest parts about being a rideshare driver is how isolating this job can feel,” said Tracy Shaw, an Illinois rideshare driver from West Rogers Park. “We work alone in our cars, without coworkers or a real support system, and when your pay drops or you get deactivated without explanation, you start to wonder if you’re the only one struggling. Through the Illinois Drivers Alliance, drivers realized we are not alone; we are stronger together. After I got in a car accident on the job, it was this driver community that carried me through. They checked on me, lifted me up, and reminded me that I wasn’t alone, because for so many drivers, this community has become family. This fight was about standing up for ourselves and for each other, and together, we won. Now, we are ready to form a union and build an even stronger community that unites drivers from every corner of Illinois.”
“I have been driving rideshare all the way back to when Uber first came to Illinois more than a decade ago,” said Juan Flores, a rideshare driver from Joliet. “At one time, this job gave me the ability to support my family and even help put my daughter through college. I was proud of the life I could build through hard work. But over the years, the pay kept shrinking while the costs of gas, insurance, and car repairs only went up. In the past few years, after everything I have given to this job, my own kids have been helping me pay the bills just so we can get by. That changes today because we can now form a union and bargain for wages that keep up with rising costs and allow us to live a full life! I am so proud of my fellow drivers and thankful to Senator Villivalam and Representative Morris for standing with us.”
“Unions lift up our working class to make sure families can afford to put food on the table, pay their bills, and plan for a future without fear,” said Illinois Drivers Alliance Leader Genie Kastrup. “Because of outdated state law, rideshare drivers who keep our state moving were being left behind; they are parents, immigrants, retirees, students – working people doing everything they can to scrape by. The passage of the Rideshare Driver’s Union Bill sets drivers up to take matters into their own hands by forming a union and fighting for a better future! I am so proud of our drivers who fought tooth and nail to get this bill passed. It was their courage and selflessness that will forever change the landscape for gig work and set the standard for rideshare drivers across the country.”
“For the past few years, Illinois rideshare drivers have stood strong, demanding the right to organize and collectively bargain over many workplace standards,” said Illinois Drivers Alliance Leader Ronnie Gonzalez. “Today, the legislature showed they heard those drivers and the personal stories they have shared. This legislation isn’t just a win on paper – it is a turning point for rideshare drivers all across this state.”
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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