KELOWNA, British Columbia, Sept. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UFCW 1518 today marked another historic milestone for app-based workers as Uber drivers in B.C.’s interior region, including Kelowna and Kamloops, joined the union, expanding the world’s first collective agreement for Uber rideshare drivers.
With their unionization, drivers in Passenger Transportation Board Region 4, which covers the Okanagan-Kootenay-Cariboo areas will become covered by the landmark agreement first negotiated by Uber drivers in Victoria, expanding its protections and benefits to hundreds more drivers in British Columbia.
The expansion demonstrates that more drivers are choosing collective bargaining after seeing the gains achieved by their fellow workers. It also reinforces that the agreement was not a one-time achievement, but the beginning of a new chapter for organizing workers in the platform economy.
“The agreement reached by Uber drivers in Victoria made history. Now we’re seeing that history continue to grow,” said Patrick Johnson, President of UFCW 1518. “Drivers in Interior B.C. saw what was possible when workers came together, and they decided to organize for those same protections, representation, and improvements.”
The collective agreement—the first of its kind anywhere in the world for rideshare drivers—includes a health spending fund, quarterly bonuses, annual increases to waiting fees, cancellation fees, and out-of-region fees, formal dispute resolution mechanisms, and in-person union representation.
Its expansion into the B.C. Interior signals that the agreement is becoming a model for app-based workers seeking greater fairness, stability, and a stronger voice on the job.
“Technology may be changing how people work, but it doesn’t change the fundamental principle that workers deserve a voice in the conditions of their work,” said Johnson. “British Columbia continues to demonstrate what is possible when app-based workers organize and bargain collectively, and today is proof of that happening with more drivers directly seeing the benefits of that solidarity.”
“Uber drivers in B.C.’s interior are building on the historic achievement of drivers in Victoria,” said Barry Sawyer, UFCW Canada National President. “Through their union, these drivers are making it clear that app-based workers deserve a meaningful voice on the issues that affect their livelihoods. UFCW Canada is proud to support them as they continue building a stronger future for workers in the platform economy.”
“This is another important step forward for Uber drivers and for workers across the platform economy,” said Pablo Godoy, Director of Emerging Sectors, UFCW Canada. “Workers should have a voice in the conditions under which they work, regardless of whether their work is organized through a traditional workplace or a digital platform. The drivers in Kelowna are showing that collective action can create real change.”
“A union gives us a meaningful voice on the issues that affect our livelihoods, including transparency, fairness, safety and account-related concerns, says Shane Sievers, a Kelowna-based Uber driver. “With proper representation, drivers don’t have to face these issues alone.”
With drivers in Massachusetts recently following suit with their own certification, this expansion comes as policymakers, platform companies, and workers around the world continue to debate the future of gig work and worker protections.
While platform work continues to grow across Canada and around the world, UFCW 1518 believes workers in the gig economy deserve the same opportunity to improve their protections and working conditions as workers in traditional industries.
“This platform economy isn’t the future of work—it’s already here,” Johnson said. “The question is whether the workers powering these platforms have a meaningful voice in shaping their jobs. What we’re seeing in British Columbia is that they can, and we believe more app-based workers will look at what’s been achieved here and see what’s possible for themselves.”
About UFCW 1518
UFCW 1518 is British Columbia's largest private sector union, representing over 28,000 members working in retail, industrial food processing, community health, and cannabis sectors.
For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact:
About UFCW Canada
As Canada's leading union for retail and food workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW Canada) represents over 270,000 workers across the country working in the food retail and processing, agriculture, health care, security, and hospitality industries, as well as other sectors of the economy. UFCW Canada is the country's most innovative organization dedicated to building fairness in workplaces and communities.
Contact:
Pablo Godoy
Director of Emerging Sectors
UFCW Canada
pablo.godoy@ufcw.ca
416-474-3416
Megana Ramaswami,
Senior Director, Communications & Events
UFCW 1518
communications@ufcw1518.com
604-220-1949
