Wednesday, June 4, SEIU 1021 members joined hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers with the California Gig Workers Union. Together, they lobbied dozens of assemblymembers in Sacramento, urging the them to pass AB1340.

AB 1340, authored by Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), would would empower rideshare drivers with the right to organize for better working conditions and establish a process for gig drivers to choose their union. It would protect workers from retaliation when they join together to organize and provide a process for drivers to bargain with the industry for better pay, working conditions, and price transparency for riders.

“We’re facing low pay and exploitation. They take our money. They take our dignity. That’s the problem with Uber and Lyft,” said John Mejia, a driver leader with the California Gig Workers Union. ”I support AB1340 because as drivers, we need better wages and basic essential benefits. We need to show them that we are humans and not just a commodity they can use.”

Watch the new California Gig Workers Union campaign ad here.