App Drivers Union certified in Massachusetts; leaders call on Uber and Lyft to negotiate first contract

Drivers, labor leaders and Massachusetts officials celebrated the certification of the App Drivers Union (ADU) in a public event in Boston, calling the outcome a historic win and urging ride‑hailing companies to bargain a first contract.

Alfred Potter, who identified himself as a founding member of ADU, thanked allied unions and organizers and said the victory gives drivers "a seat on the table" to press for a first union contract, fair pay and safeguards against unfair deactivations. "We won," Potter told the crowd.

Governor Healey congratulated drivers and credited organizers and sympathetic legislators for supporting the campaign. "You claimed your union, and now you're the first in the United States to be a unionized ride share drivers," she said, framing the result as an example other states could follow and referencing past state action on worker classification.

April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, described the certification as the largest private‑sector organizing victory in decades and said workers made it possible. "A workforce this large has not won union recognition in this country in 84 years," Verrett said, and added that the victory belonged to the drivers who organized.

Machinists union president Brian Bryant and other allied leaders reiterated solidarity with drivers and praised the organizing campaign. Several drivers spoke about falling pay, rising expenses and the stress of operating under the threat of app deactivation; driver Victoria Costa said she organized and testified at hearings while raising a family, and called the union a path to a better life.

ADU leadership urged immediate next steps: organizers said the celebration marks the start of bargaining and demanded that ride‑hailing companies come to the table. "Uber and Lyft have to come to the table and negotiate a fair contract for the drivers here in Massachusetts," an ADU leader said, listing priorities of fair pay, transparency and protections against unfair deactivations.

Event organizers also thanked SEIU 32BJ, the Machinists, the AFL‑CIO and state legislative supporters and invited attendees to a followup celebration at the ADU office. The group said it will press for legislative and public support during upcoming contract negotiations.

What happens next: organizers said they will move from certification to bargaining with the companies and will seek legislative and public support to secure a contract that includes pay protections and clearer deactivation procedures. The event closed with final acknowledgements and an invitation to continue organizing and negotiations.