A threat from some rideshare companies this afternoon regarding a bill that would give wage and job protections to Lyft and Uber drivers in Minnesota. And now a veto from Governor Tim Walz.
An Uber spokesman has said if the governor signed the bill into law, the company will stop its service outside the Twin Cities metro area, and reduce rides in the metro to just “premium services”.
Walz has vetoed the rideshare bill and ordered further studies on the legislation after the threats from Uber on Thursday afternoon.
"Rideshare drivers deserve fair wages and safe working conditions," Walz said in a statement. "I am committed to finding solutions that balance the interests of all parties, including drivers and riders. This is not the right bill to achieve these goals. I have spent my career fighting for workers, and I will continue to work with drivers, riders, and rideshare companies to address the concerns that this bill sought to address."
Primarily, the bill would mandate minimum compensation rates for drivers on a per-mile and per-minute basis. It would also grant a driver the right to appeal a deactivation, providing an avenue to possibly reactivate their account on a rideshare app.
There were drivers from both companies are protesting the bill, and supporting the bill, at the State Capitol Thursday afternoon.