SPRINGFIELD — Illinois rideshare drivers could soon collectively bargain with Uber and Lyft after the state General Assembly passed legislation early Monday outlining a path toward unionization.

Meanwhile, a separate bill that would have authorized autonomous vehicle pilot programs in the state failed to advance before the end of the legislative session.

The rideshare bill, which still needs Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature, passed with backing from SEIU Local 1, IAM machinists union Local 701 and Uber, supporters said. It would give more than 100,000 rideshare drivers in Illinois a way to form a union.

“We’re excited to hit the road and let everybody know that they’re going to be able to join a union,” said Giovanni Suarez, a Chicago-based full-time rideshare driver who stayed in the Capitol past 2 a.m. to watch the bill pass in the state House.

The Illinois model is similar to one approved by voters in Massachusetts, the first state where rideshare drivers won the right to bargain as independent contractors in 2024. Just days ago, Massachusetts also became the first state to formally recognize a union for ride-hailing app drivers, a certification covering roughly 70,000 workers that labor leaders described as the largest private-sector organizing win since Ford autoworkers unionized in 1941, according to The Associated Press. 

Illinois Republicans raised concerns during floor debate about the feasibility of organizing workers who are not classified as employees.

“What I’m trying to understand is how do we unionize people who aren’t employees, people who are their own independent contractors? They run themselves as their own business,” said GOP state Rep. Dan Ugaste of Geneva.

That tension was at the heart of the bill. Rideshare companies and other employers in the so-called gig economy have long maintained that their drivers and other workers are not their direct employees. IAM Union Local 701 representative Ronnie Gonzalez said the Illinois rideshare drivers he spoke with also wanted to maintain their independent contractor status. 

AFSCME Council 31 opposed the bill over concerns that it could lock in workers’ status as independent contractors rather than employees — a distinction that can exclude workers from benefits afforded to employees. The union did not actively campaign against the bill, however.

Under the legislation, a labor organization seeking to represent drivers would first need to demonstrate a baseline level of support, then obtain backing from 30% of drivers to be certified as their bargaining representative. Rideshare companies would pay a fee of a few cents per ride to cover the law’s administrative costs. That fee cannot be passed on to consumers as an itemized charge.

Suarez, 39, said he became a rideshare driver about a year ago and already feels the physical toll of long hours, noting drivers sometimes earn less than minimum wage after expenses. He said he hoped collective bargaining would lead to higher pay and protections against driver deactivation.

“It’s not an easy job. It’s not a safe job. It’s demanding,” he said.

Gonzalez acknowledged that organizers face an uphill task in reaching drivers, who, by the nature of their work, can be “very reclusive.”

Uber spokesperson Alex Finke said in a statement that the company supported the compromise legislation because it “preserves the flexibility that drivers consistently tell us they value most while creating a statewide framework for benefits, representation, and workplace protections.”

Lyft didn’t return requests for comment. Representatives from Lyft did not respond to organizers throughout the process, Gonzalez said.

State Sen. Seth Lewis, a Republican from Bartlett, said he voted for the bill because it was a good example of the rideshare companies, government and labor coming together to make good policy. 

“In the end, you have an agreed bill between business, government and labor that actually gives a voice to the person doing the work,” he said. “That is something I believe in. That if all three parties can agree and it actually helps the person doing the job, I’ll support that all day.”

The rideshare bill’s passage came as self-driving cars have descended on some cities and changed how people call rides on demand.

Legislation from Democratic state Sen. Michael Hastings of Frankfort to authorize autonomous vehicle pilot programs did not pass before the spring session gaveled out this week.

The bill would have launched pilot programs in a handful of counties, including Cook, before opening the door to statewide authorization of self-driving cars in three years. Self-driving car company Waymo — owned by Google parent Alphabet Inc. — has been testing vehicles on Chicago streets and pushing to expand into the Illinois market. The company currently operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta and Miami. 

Labor organizations, including the Teamsters, Illinois AFL-CIO and the Chicago Federation of Labor, raised concerns about public safety and the potential impact on hundreds of thousands of workers’ jobs if self-driving taxis moved into Illinois.

“We believe that we need to put some guardrails in to ensure jobs and the public at large are protected, and we’re willing to sit down and talk and negotiate a bill that works for working families, consumers, and Waymo,” said Tim Drea, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO.

Hastings said further discussions with the Illinois secretary of state’s office and some labor organizations are needed to hash out more details of the legislation.

“I think we’ve reached a lot of agreements in principle on liability coverage and other, you know, insurance, liability, various definitions,” he said. “It’s a really complex new technology but I’ve received assurances from a lot of the stakeholders that they want to work with us over the summer.”

“There’s some major definition questions you’ve got to answer, like: Who do you sue if something goes wrong?” he said.

Waymo said in a statement it looked forward to continuing negotiations with the General Assembly. 

The Associated Press contributed.