In the decade since Uber barged into Portland, drivers for the rideshare app and its main competitor, Lyft, say working conditions have deteriorated.

In a pair of hearings this session, drivers told of long days for little pay, having their accounts canceled for no discernible reason, and having to miss major life events because they lack paid time off.

Joe Jackson, a Salem driver, had to choose between earning money for rent or watching the birth of his child.

“Were it not for the grace of my closest friend who paid my rent… I would’ve welcomed my son into homelessness,” Jackson said Monday. “If I had access to simple, automatically accruing sick pay for the decade that I committed to these companies, there would have been no need to worry.”

Lawmakers are considering a proposal to improve the lot of drivers for so-called transportation network companies. Senate Bill 1166 would set minimum pay drivers must make, grant them paid time off, and require that ride hailing apps provide just cause when revoking a driver’s account.

While Oregon law grants most workers paid leave, it doesn’t apply to independent contractors like rideshare drivers.

The bill is a priority for Senate Majority Leader Kayse Jama, D-Portland, who says he’s become convinced by drivers in his district that labor conditions at Uber and Lyft are untenable.

“Many of these workers drive more than 12 hours a day to pay their bills,” Jama said at a Monday hearing packed with drivers who backed up his claim. “They work sick because they have no other choice. They can lose their income at a moment’s notice with no way to tell their side of their story.”

Uber and Lyft say the changes Jama proposes will come at a cost. Both companies testified better pay for drivers will force them to ratchet up the price of rides between 33% and 40% — as they did when a similar law went into place in Seattle. The companies say those higher prices will drive away customers, ultimately hurting drivers.

“We support improving the working conditions of thousands of Oregonians,” an Uber spokesperson named Zahid Arab testified, “but this bill is not the answer.”

The change “would make transportation significantly less affordable for lower income Oregonians, including many seniors,” said Marissa Cade, a lobbyist for Lyft.

The push and pull has become familiar around the nation. New York City, Washington state, and Minnesota have passed policies setting minimum driver wages. In response, ride hailing companies have at times threatened to leave entirely, though such threats have not panned out.

Even so, some Republican state senators voiced worry about what might happen to rideshare services in smaller Oregon cities if the bill passed.

“We finally have service in Hood River,” said Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles. “I am nervous that right now we are hearing from a lot of people in Portland that have concerns. I have not heard from any of my local drivers.”

Under Jama’s proposal, rideshare drivers would be paid 68 cents a minute while handling a fare, and $1.59 per mile driven. They could not be paid less than $6 per fare. That amount is well above the minimum set in much of Washington state: 37 cents per minute and $1.27 per mile.

A pay raise could have a notable impact in Portland, where some drivers say it makes more sense to pick up riders in neighboring Vancouver, Wash.

“With Washington’s law and how you’re paid across the border, there is a disservice to customers in north and northeast Portland,” Scott Burge, a former Scappoose mayor who drives for Uber, told lawmakers in March. “Most of us that go up there will not take rides that are the lowest cost in Oregon during the afternoon. It just doesn’t pay enough.”

The future of Jama’s bill is unclear, particularly because it comes with state money attached. SB 1166 would create a new Driver Resource Center that could help Uber and Lyft drivers navigate appeals if their accounts are deactivated. The bill proposed allocating $4 million to operate that service — not a sure thing in a year when lawmakers are fretting over an uncertain economy and the loss of federal funds.

Jama, one of the top Democrats in the Senate, suggested Monday he will keep pressing the issue.

“This session we have to do something with this bill,” he said.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/04/29/oregon-lawmakers-consider-pay-bump-new-protections-for-rideshare-drivers/