Uber deal shows divide in labour's drive for role in 'gig economy'

San Francisco

THE International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers trumpeted an agreement reached earlier this month to represent New York Uber drivers, saying it "gives organised labour an opportunity to shape the new economy in a way that supports and values workers and their families". But not everyone in the US labour movement is cheering.

The deal falls short of actual union representation, and it has revealed sharp divisions among labour advocates about how to address a central reality of the so-called gig economy: The classification of workers as independent contractors rather than employees.

Under the terms of its agreement with Uber Technologies Inc, the Machinists will form an "Independent Drivers Guild" that will be able to intervene with the company on behalf of wrongly terminated driver…