"We're here to take the victory lap."
Minneapolis City Council members are celebrating the state's new rideshare legislation passed before the session ended. Members are voting to recall their approved ordinance Thursday now that the legislature signed a statewide deal. That preempts the city's ordinance.
Senator Omar Fateh (DFL- Minneapolis) joined several Council Members at Minneapolis City Hall.
"Uber and Lyft with all the resources, all of their money, all of their lobbyists and consultants, all of their arm twisting, all of their lies, all of their deceit, none of it mattered," said Fateh. "They were taken down by workers."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry argued in recent days that the state's resolution mirrors one he had already proposed.
"You actually talk with people who you don't agree with, and then you come to a resolution and I think that's what people want right now, they want government to work, they want people in government to work together," says Frey. "They want politicians to recognize when they're not the smartest ones in the room. There's somebody smarter than them. And I think that's the way you create good policy."
But Councilmember Robin Wonsley says the mayor's only proposal to the council was subpar.
"So, if we would have took the Mayor Frey subpar proposal, that would not have led us to this moment of having some of the strongest worker protections for drivers in the country, and the strongest rideshare policy in the country," Wonsley says.
Democratic legislative leaders Saturday night announced a rideshare deal which will keep Uber and Lyft remaining in Minnesota. The original ordinance passed by the Minneapolis City Council lead to both rideshare giants saying the cost increases would leave them no choice but to leave the Twin Cities.
Councilmember Aurin Chowdhury says the council's ordinance pushed state lawmakers to get a bill done despite what Chowdhury says are Uber and Lyft's "scare tactics."
"To leave behind workers, to leave behind community members who relied on ride share, and we said, no, that is not right," says Chowdhury. "It is morally incorrect to pit working people who drive people around our community, against working people who rely on those services."
Councilmember Jamal Osman says finding a resolution wasn't easy, especially when taking on giant corporations like Uber and Lyft.
"We had a lot of push backs, a lot of challenges, fear tactics that the Uber and Lyft are leaving, our city is doomed and all kind of fear tactics that was used to scare us to make policies that really help the drivers and low income people," Osman explained.
Under the state proposal, drivers receive a pay raise and increased insurance protections. According to DFL leaders, the pay rate in the deal for drivers is $1.28 per mile and 31 cents per minute, which they say amounts to a 20 percent pay raise.