“We are human beings! ”Drivers fight for Dignity at MSP

Rideshare demand and airport revenue are up — but basic facilities for drivers are still missing.

Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport (MSP) notched four years of passenger growth and set a new record for international passenger volume in 2024. With that growth has come a strong demand for rideshare services. In July 2024, there were nearly 5,000 rideshare pickups per day. Rideshare is also a growing source of revenue: MSP makes an estimated $13,500 per day and nearly $5 million a year in fees paid by rideshare passengers.¹

Rideshare demand and airport revenue are up — but basic facilities for drivers are still missing.

Despite the essential service that rideshare drivers provide, MSP has failed to provide the basic amenities of a dignified workplace for drivers. The lot where drivers wait to receive passengers has a few porta-potties (which are often dirty) and no running water. Many drivers kneel to pray five times a day, and without any access to indoor facilities, they are forced to pray on the ground in Minnesota’s winter cold and summer heat.

A driver holds up a photo of a proper airport prayer room at a MAC meeting, showing commissioners what MSP lacks.

Since February 2025, drivers with the SEIU 26 Rideshare Organizing Committee have attended monthly public hearings of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) to ask respectfully for a dignified waiting area with bathrooms and a prayer space. Drivers have sent letters to MAC Commissioners, testified at hearings, rallied with state legislators, and met directly with MAC staff members to discuss the need for a waiting area and other issues, like fair treatment from police.

“We are human beings!” driver Dawit Kassa said, flanked by state representatives and supporters at an MSP press conference. “We should have decent facilities here.”²

Dawit Kassa speaks at a press conference alongside State Representatives Samakab Hussein and María Isa Pérez-Vega.

Not only have MSP officials refused to provide drivers with basic facilities, MAC Chairperson Rick King announced that MAC is considering closing the rideshare lot on MSP property.³ This pushes drivers to wait in the neighborhoods surrounding the airports and may cause delays for airport passengers who want to use rideshare services. Meanwhile, MSP gives tens of millions of dollars back to airlines like Delta as part of their revenue-sharing agreements.⁴

Drivers at a MAC meeting. MAC officials hear repeated appeals from drivers for basic facilities.

By refusing Minnesota drivers the most basic amenities and instead sending millions to Delta Airlines (and to Atlanta), MSP has chosen corporate interests over passengers’ interests. If MSP wants to be a world-class airport, it needs to offer world-class services. That starts with treating the service workers like rideshare drivers with dignity and respect.

Rideshare drivers take pride in their work. They are the face of Minneapolis for visitors who fly into the city and make their way downtown, and they take their role in Minnesota’s transportation infrastructure seriously.

Please sign our petition asking the Metropolitan Airports Commission to treat rideshare drivers and other airport workers with dignity.

Sign the Petition

1. SEIU Analysis of MAC data (link)
2. Press conference, SEIU Local 26 on 6/17/25. See video starting at 0:55.
3. Metropolitan Airports Commission, Full Commission Meeting, 6/21/25. See video starting at 19:00.
4. Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2023 and 2022, see page 27 of PDF.