What The App Drivers Union does

The App Drivers Union (ADU) is a Massachusetts-based, non-profit labor union founded in 2024 and formally launched in January 2025 that represents approximately 70,000 app-based rideshare drivers (Uber, Lyft, and similar platforms) operating as independent contractors. It was created through a joint effort between 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), who co-chair the organization, and it is the first statewide rideshare drivers' union in the United States to win official state certification from the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations. ADU's existence was made legally possible by the November 2024 passage of Ballot Question 3 (54% to 46%), which granted Massachusetts rideshare drivers the right to collectively bargain as independent contractors and cleared the path for a card-check recognition process.

ADU's core product is collective-bargaining representation: members delegate negotiating authority to ADU on wages, benefits, deactivation appeals, dispute resolution, and algorithmic-management transparency, with all resulting gains required to be codified into a binding contract reviewed by the Massachusetts Secretary of Labor. The union's distribution model is a hybrid of three co-located organizing offices (Boston/SEIU 32BJ at 26 West Street, East Boston/IAM at 830 Saratoga St., Lawrence/32BJ at 11 Lawrence Street), a multi-language digital card-signing platform deployed in eight languages (English, Spanish, Arabic, Somali, Haitian Creole, French, Portuguese, Chinese), and grassroots outreach via door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, and at least 12 documented GOTV events. Its marketing and political muscle are generated through grassroots rallies at the Massachusetts State House and Boston City Hall, an active earned-media footprint across Boston Globe, WBUR, WGBH, NBC Boston, CBS Boston, WBZ, WCVB, Fox 25, Bloomberg Law, and Telemundo, and organic social channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok @app_drivers_union). Beyond contract bargaining, ADU is also the leading organizer of the October 2025 Labor United Against Waymo coalition, which includes Teamsters Local 25, UFCW 1445, IAM District 15, the Greater Boston Labor Council, and SEIU 32BJ and is pushing a Boston City Council ordinance requiring a public study before any commercial autonomous-vehicle deployment.

ADU's revenue model is membership dues on a deferred-payment basis: drivers join for free, and dues are not collected until the union wins and the membership ratifies a collective bargaining agreement, after which dues become voluntary and serve as the primary funding stream. The organization has no disclosed external venture capital, no filed funding rounds, no app or public API, and no AI/ML capability — its sole technology surface is its card-signing waiver portal. Leadership is led by Executive Director Autumn Weintraub and is democratically member-elected under the umbrella of its two co-chairing parent unions.

Name

The App Drivers Union

Legal name

App Drivers Union

Website

https://appdriversunion.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The App Drivers Union is a Massachusetts-based labor union, founded in 2024 and co-chaired by 32BJ SEIU and IAM, that represents approximately 70,000 Uber and Lyft rideshare drivers as the first statewide union of its kind in the United States to win state certification under Ballot Question 3.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor Union Services

NAICS

Taxi and Ridesharing Services (485310), Taxi and Ridesharing Services (48531)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

E-Hail Taxi Operators (Taxi via Apps) (TLAFAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Rideshare & Ride-Hailing Platforms (TNCs) (TLAFAAAK)

Keywords

• Labor union services
• Rideshare driver representation
• Collective bargaining
• Gig worker advocacy
• Independent contractor union

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Member Dues: The union collects member dues, but dues are voluntary and not collected until drivers win a union contract. This is designed to ensure the union is accountable to members and builds collective power before financial obligations begin.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The App Drivers Union is a labor union created by and for app-based rideshare drivers (Uber and Lyft) in Massachusetts. It provides collective bargaining representation, driver advocacy, and member services aimed at negotiating higher pay, benefits, protections against arbitrary deactivation, and dispute resolution processes. Certified by the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations to represent approximately 70,000 independent contractor rideshare drivers across the Commonwealth.

Product overview

The App Drivers Union is a single, unified union organization (not a technology platform) created by and for app-based rideshare drivers in Massachusetts. The organization offers union membership services, a card-signing platform available in multiple languages, and a driver resources portal. There is no modular product architecture—this is a straightforward labor union whose primary 'products' are representation, advocacy, and member services for approximately 70,000 Uber and Lyft drivers. The union is backed by 32BJ Service Employees International Union and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• App Drivers Union Membership Services A union membership service for Uber and Lyft rideshare drivers in Massachusetts, providing collective bargaining representation, driver advocacy, and organizational support for approximately 70,000 members. Members receive representation in negotiations over pay, benefits, working conditions, deactivation protections, and dispute resolution. Membership is free until a collective bargaining agreement is ratified.
• Union Card Signing Platform A digital card-signing service available in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Arabic, Somali, Haitian Creole, French, Portuguese, Chinese) enabling drivers in Massachusetts to sign union authorization cards remotely through waiver portals hosted at waiver.fr and waiverforever.com.
• Driver Resources Portal Educational resources for drivers covering unemployment benefits, SNAP assistance, housing support, tax filing guidance, and information on deactivation appeals processes, hosted at appdriversunion.org.

Quantifiable outcome

• $32.50 minimum wage for active driver time (established via AG settlement, prior to union contract)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Labor United Against Waymo CoalitionmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 October 2025A labor coalition opposing Waymo's expansion in Massachusetts, demanding that elected officials consider the economic impact of job losses from autonomous vehicles. The coalition draws from the App Drivers Union, Teamsters Local 25, UFCW 1445, IAM District 15, the Greater Boston Labor Council, and SEIU 32BJ. The coalition is pushing for a proposed Boston City Council ordinance requiring a public study of driverless vehicle impacts before allowing commercial AV operations.
• 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner32BJ SEIU is a union of 175,000 janitors, security officers, airport workers and others across the East Coast, including 20,000 members in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It is the largest property services union in the country and part of the 2-million-member SEIU. SEIU has been at the forefront of the national gig workers organizing movement. 32BJ SEIU co-chairs the Yes On 3 campaign and serves as a co-chair of the App Drivers Union alongside IAM.
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAM is the largest airline union in North America, representing more than 100,000 air transport members, and is one of the largest and most diverse industrial trade unions in North America with approximately 600,000 active and retired members. IAM has been working with Massachusetts drivers for years to secure union rights. IAM District 15 provides direct organizing support and participates as co-chair of the App Drivers Union alongside 32BJ SEIU.
• Teamsters Local 25majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Labor United Against Waymo coalition, representing tens of thousands of truck transport and delivery drivers who could be displaced by autonomous vehicle technology. Teamsters Local 25 President Tom Mari has publicly opposed Waymo expansion, citing voter opposition data.
• UFCW 1445minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1445 is part of the Labor United Against Waymo coalition, joining rideshare drivers and Teamsters in opposing autonomous vehicle expansion in Massachusetts.
• Greater Boston Labor CouncilmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Greater Boston Labor Council (GBLC) represents the broader labor movement in the Boston area and is part of the Labor United Against Waymo coalition. The GBLC notes that 70,000 app-based drivers and tens of thousands of Teamster truck transport and delivery drivers could be displaced by widespread autonomous vehicle deployment.
• IAM District 15majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAM District 15 is the regionalMachinists union district active in Massachusetts and part of the Labor United Against Waymo coalition. District 15 Directing Business Manager Mike Vartabedian has publicly advocated for human safety operators in autonomous vehicles and additional study before allowing AVs in the state.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Independent Drivers Guild: NYC-based nonprofit rideshare driver advocacy organization affiliated with the Machinists Union, providing organizing, legal support, and representation to app-based drivers — a directly analogous mission to ADU but operating in New York.
• NYC Taxi Workers Alliance: Independent union representing NYC yellow cab, green cab, for-hire, and app-based drivers — operates in the same gig/taxi driver representation space as ADU with multi-decade organizing experience.
• Mobile Workers Alliance: Driver-led organization advocating for app-based rideshare and delivery workers, focused on wages, classification, and collective action — directly comparable constituency and advocacy model to ADU.
• Gig Workers Rising: Multi-city gig worker advocacy coalition organizing rideshare and delivery drivers across multiple states; comparable grassroots driver-organizing mission and coalition-building approach to ADU.
• Rideshare Drivers United: LA-based driver-led advocacy group organizing Uber and Lyft drivers for higher pay, transparency, and worker protections — directly comparable driver-advocacy model to ADU's Massachusetts effort.
• App-Based Workers Coalition: Coalition advocating for app-based rideshare and delivery workers across the US, focused on workplace protections, transparency, and collective bargaining rights — directly comparable advocacy scope and constituency.

Others

• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM): Parent co-chair union of ADU and one of North America's largest industrial trade unions with ~600,000 members; provides organizing capacity and political reach to ADU rather than competing with it.
• 32BJ SEIU: Parent co-chair union of ADU with 175,000 members across property services on the East Coast; not a direct peer but provides institutional infrastructure and shared organizing DNA with ADU's rideshare work.

Regional players

• Colorado Rideshare Drivers Association: Colorado-based driver advocacy organization pushing for rideshare worker protections and union rights at the state level — directly analogous mission to ADU but operating in a different state.

Emerging players

• Driver's Seat Cooperative: Driver-owned data cooperative providing rideshare drivers with analytics and collective bargaining tools — a different model (data/tech cooperative) but operating in the same rideshare driver empowerment space as ADU.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AppDriversUnion
• Instagraminstagram.com/app_drivers_union
• TikToktiktok.com/@app.drivers.union

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The App Drivers Union