Uber Found an Unlikely Friend in Organized Labor

If your Uber driver ever seems excessively paranoid about not getting a five-star rating or outright begs you for one, there’s a reason. Drivers who find their accounts deactivated by the company have long complained that the appeals process seems opaque and tough to resolve in their favor. That may be about to change: Uber says that by the end of the year, drivers in New York City will be able to appeal deactivations to panels of other drivers in meetings refereed by the American Arbitration Association. Professional labor representatives will argue their cases at no cost to the drivers.

“We don’t have a successful business if we don’t have enough happy, productive, motivated drivers,” says David Plouffe, the Uber adviser who guided Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. “We’re listening.”