The Seattle City Council voted last month to give drivers for ride services Uber and Lyft the ability to form unions. The vote passed 8-0, and although Mayor Ed Murray has said he will not sign the bill, it will become law anyway.

Because Uber and Lyft drivers are contractors, they don’t fall under the union-forming tenants of the National Labor Relations Act, which gives all workers the right to collective bargaining.

The Seattle Times quoted a statement from Uber saying they are “…creating new opportunities for many people to earn a better living on their own time and their own terms.”

The move makes Seattle the first city to allow contract drivers to organize. As a collective bargaining entity, the drivers can better advocate for themselves on issues of working conditions and pay.

Uber is currently being sued by drivers in several cities, including Seattle, for being classified as independent contractors and therefore losing their collective bargaining rights. This law may help ease that strain, especially if other cities follow.