More than 800,000 drivers for ride-hailing companies in California will be able to join a union under a measure signed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Supporters said the new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, will open a path for the largest expansion of private sector collective bargaining rights in the state’s history. The legislation is a significant compromise in the long battle between labor unions and tech companies.

California is the second state where Uber and Lyft drivers can unionize as independent contractors. Massachusetts voters passed a ballot referendum in November allowing unionization, while drivers in Illinois and Minnesota are pushing for similar rights.

Newsom announced the signing of AB 1340 at an unrelated news conference at UC Berkeley. The new law will give drivers “d

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