On Monday, April 13, 50 Uber and Lyft drivers from llinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and California gathered at SEIU 1021’s San Francisco office for a training on how to build a labor union of gig drivers.

SEIU 1021 President Theresa Rutherford opened the convening with a clear message: “You’re all here because, just like SEIU 1021 members at cities and counties, you know you deserve a union. You deserve a living wage. You deserve benefits. You deserve representation and dignity.”

During the first day of the three-day training, drivers learned about the history and broader context of the national gig worker campaign, strategies for building worker power, how to share their stories online, and how to have one-on-one conversations to grow their union.

John Mejia, a gig driver and member of the California Gig Workers Union, reflected on the importance of the training: “It’s important for drivers to learn from one another so that we can build our power. It’s great to see the energy and hope that we’ve built toward forming our union.”

The training comes as gig workers in California are collecting the union cards needed to form a union through the California Gig Workers Union.

At the end of the three-day training, drivers will spread all across California to continue organizing and building their union.