The Seattle City Council voted unanimously to approve a bill allowing drivers for Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing apps to form unions.

Council members voted 9-0 in favor of the ordinance, the first legislation of its kind in the country. The decision was greeted with cheers in a City Council chamber packed with supporters holding placards that read “Driver Unity.” The measure is likely to be challenged in court.

The vote is a victory for the App-Based Drivers Association, or ABDA, of Seattle, an organization of on-demand contract workers that lobbied with the local Teamsters union for the legislation. It is a fight that other drivers around the country have watched closely; union organizers in California have said that the outcome of the Seattle vote could influence actions taken in their own cities.

One member of the City Council, Nick Licata, called the vote “history-setting in what we’re attempting to do here in terms of advancing the rights of drivers.”

A driver for Uber loading a customer's groceries into his car.News Analysis: A Middle Ground Between Contract Worker and EmployeeDEC. 10, 2015

Uber's headquarters in San Francisco. The car-hailing company is cutting about 20 jobs in its policy and communications department.Uber Is Said to Be Shaking Up Policy and Communications TeamDEC. 11, 2015

John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft, and Jean Liu, president of DiDi Kuaidi, announced an earlier partnership in September.Lyft Joins With Asian Rivals to Compete With UberDEC. 3, 2015

The ordinance is also the latest headache for Uber, which is in battles about employment issues across the country. The company faces a class-action lawsuit in California on behalf of some drivers who wish to be considered full-time employees, not contractors. Uber has consistently resisted that effort, underscoring the flexibility its service affords those who drive for the company.

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The New York Times