Star Tribune
Minneapolis City Council overrides Frey veto on Uber/Lyft plan
The Minneapolis City Council Thursday overrode the veto of Mayor Jacob Frey on a rideshare plan that threatens a showdown with Uber and Lyft over driver pay.
The ride-hailing giants have vowed to cease operations in Minneapolis — and possibly all of Minnesota — on May 1 when the ordinance, which sets minimums for how much drivers earn when giving rides, takes effect.
Thursday’s vote means the ordinance will go into effect as is, unless the council decides to change it before then.
Here’s a primer on what could happen next.
The council approved the plan last week with a veto-proof majority. Frey vetoed it the next day and called Thursday’s special meeting to get the override vote taken care of quickly. If he were to be overridden, he argued, it was best for that to happen as soon as possible to give the city time to prepare.
Uber and Lyft are the only licensed rideshare companies in the city, although several entities — both local startup notions and existing companies — have said they’d be eager to fill the void. None have formally applied for a license.
Why is this happening?
For several years, an organized group of drivers have complained that Uber and Lyft have cut the share of fares they receive, to the point where some complain they can’t make ends meet. Many were cab drivers before Uber entered the market a decade ago, leading to a massive shrinkage of the local taxi sector. The companies only recently started reporting profits, and critics have said their business model is dependent on exploiting drivers.
These organized drivers found allies among the more liberal members of the city council, as well as state Legislature. New minimum standards were approved last year in Minneapolis and the state Capitol, but Frey and Gov. Tim Walz each vetoed them. In Minneapolis, the political make-up of the council changed in November’s election.
Supporters on the council said their goal was for drivers to earn the equivalent of the city’s $15.57 hourly minimum wage. However, a state-commissioned study, released a day after their vote, concluded that drivers could be paid far less than the Minneapolis plan to earn the minimum wage equivalent — even with benefits like health insurance and paid time off.
Here are some numbers:
The Department of Labor and Industry study — billed as the largest rideshare driver compensation study ever commissioned — suggested that drivers could be paid 89 cents per mile and nearly 49 cents per minute to reach minimum wage equivalency for rides across the metro. A minimum of $1.21 per mile and 49 cents per minute for such rides would afford drivers a suite of benefits, including paid leave, health insurance and retirement savings.
By contrast, the plan approved by the City Council guarantees a floor of $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute. The driver of a wheelchair-accessible vehicle would get $1.81 per mile. Frey had pushed for a minimum payment of $1.20 per mile and 35 cents per minute. The approved plan includes additional provisions, including a $5 minimum payment for any ride, annual increases for drivers and restrictions on how money can be deducted from drivers’ wages.
What do drivers say?
With more than 7,000 active Uber drivers in the state, it’s impossible to know where they all stand. There are clearly a range of views.
A vocal coalition of between scores and hundreds of drivers, perhaps thousands, has supported the plan approved by the council. A different group has pushed for compromise, and on Thursday morning that group called for the council to lower their minimums to $1.30 per mile and $0.35 per minute.
More than 300 Lyft drivers signed a company petition last week opposing the council’s plan. Some individual drivers have testified publicly or told the Star Tribune that they’re fine with the current state of affairs.
How they voted
Voting in favor of the override were Council President Elliott Payne, Vice President Aisha Chughtai and Members Robin Wonsley, Jeremiah Ellison, Jamal Osman, Katie Cashman, Andrea Jenkins, Jason Chavez, Emily Koski and Aurin Chowdhury.
Voting against were Council Members Michael Rainville, LaTrisha Vetaw, and Linea Palmisano.
That’s the same breakdown as last week’s original vote, except for Koski, who originally voted against the ordinance.
The only debate between DFL U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and GOP challenger Royce White started Sunday on the street outside WCCO Radio.
As White approached the building, he loudly called some two dozen flag-waving and cheering Klobuchar supporters a “whole lot of commies.” The 33-year-old provocateur and podcaster also told them to thank Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney — who endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris — because there was “no chance in hell” that Harris would defeat Republican former President Donald Trump on Nov. 5.
Klobuchar, 64, had arrived moments earlier, smiling and wishing “good morning” to her supporters. Once inside, the two took questions for an hour from moderator Blois Olson. Their tone was generally polite with White often interrupting a Klobuchar response with, “rebuttal,” indicated he wanted to respond.
The senator repeatedly raised White’s claims on X, formerly Twitter, that “The bad guys won in World War II” and that there were “no good guys in that war.” She called that stance offensive to veterans.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar arrives at WCCO Radio for a debate with Royce White in Minneapolis on Sunday, Oct. 27. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii)
Klobuchar, who is seeking a fourth six-year term, portrayed herself as a pragmatist. She opened by saying that we live in “incredibly divisive times politically” but that she has listened and worked with Republicans to bring down shipping costs, drug prices for seniors and to help veterans and push for more housing and child care.
“Courage in this next few years is not going to be standing by yourself yelling at people,” she said, her opening allusion to White’s rhetoric, which she said is often vulgar.
White, a former NBA player, is a political novice, but a close ally of Steve Bannon, the jailed former chief strategist for Trump and right wing media executive. Last summer, White won the state GOP endorsement to run against Klobuchar.
“Our country’s coming undone at the seams. I think we can change that,” White said in his opening statement. He said he threatens the status quo, decried the “permanent political class” and referred to the two major parties as the “uniparty.”
Other buildings destroyed at Khojir and Parchin likely included buildings where Iran used industrial mixers to create the solid fuel needed for its extensive ballistic missile arsenal, Eveleth said.
In a statement issued immediately after the attack Saturday, the Israeli military said it targeted ”missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.”
Destroying such sites could greatly disrupt Iran’s ability to manufacture new ballistic missiles to replenish its arsenal after the two attacks on Israel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees the country’s ballistic missile program, has been silent since Saturday’s attack.
Iran’s overall ballistic missile arsenal, which includes shorter-range missiles unable to reach Israel, was estimated to be ”over 3,000” by Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then-commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command, in testimony to the U.S. Senate in 2022. In the time since, Iran has fired hundreds of the missiles in a series of attacks.
There have been no videos or photos posted to social media of missile parts or damage in civilian neighborhoods following the recent attack — suggesting that the Israeli strikes were far more accurate that Iran’s ballistic missile barrages targeting Israel in April and October. Israel relied on aircraft-fired missiles during its attack.
However, one factory appeared to have been hit in Shamsabad Industrial City, just south of Tehran near Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main gateway to the outside world. Online videos of the damaged building corresponded to an address for a firm known as TIECO, which advertises itself as building advanced machinery used in Iran’s oil and gas industry.
Some take him up on it and fret when he’s not around.
“It is nice to be missed and be part of the school’s culture,” Arzola said. But mostly, he added, he wants kids to know that police aren’t around just for when the bad stuff happens. He’ll hand out his stickers and bracelets, even a trading card bearing his image. Then, they’ll talk about dogs and family.
School resource officer Al Arzola talks to students in his office at John Adams Middle School in Rochester on Oct. 11. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Two months ago, Rochester played host to a three-day training session for new SROs from across the state — an event organized by the Minnesota School Safety Center. On the final day, the 26 officers learned about surveillance challenges at the other school where Arzola works: Dakota Middle School.
It is a beautiful building with a scenic view. There is a lot of glass, too. Arzola, handling the role of instructor and tour guide, took the group outside and noted how one could look straight through the entrance to the large groups that gather inside. There were no curbs in front, either.
“There is nothing stopping any vehicle whatsoever from going through my front doors,” Arzola told the officers. “Law enforcement wasn’t talked to before this building was made. It was kind of like, ‘Here it is. You’re the SRO. Do what you do.’”
He showed them his office, too, which is separate from the main office and near those of other school support staff members. That makes sense, said Jenny Larrive, SRO coordinator for the Minnesota School Safety Center, given than SROs spend more time connecting with youth than on actual law enforcement.
