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Nevertheless, in the UK a group called the London Private Hire App-based Drivers Association was recently set up for Uber drivers to meet and make plans. On a windy evening late last month I found myself sitting at the back of a stuffy basement at the headquarters of a major British trade union, listening in as 50 Uber drivers discussed the possibility of unionizing for the very first time.The room was filled with anger. Drivers shared stories of being deactivated, having their fares cut, and lacking any kind of meaningful rights. "Does anyone in the room want a protest?" one animated driver standing at the front shouted out at his colleagues. Hands flew up into the air. "They want us on our own," another driver told me after the meeting had finished, a bluetooth headset still fastened above his ear. "What we need is solidarity."Whether or not unionizing can change the fundamental nature of freelance work in the sharing economy—where many labor laws just don't apply—remains to be seen. One possibility that Uber drivers in America are exploring is challenging their classification as independent contractors altogether. Only last week a ruling by the California Labor Commissioner decided in favor of one particular Uber driver being classified as an employee.Other ideas range from simple measures like better access to legal advice and collectively switching off apps, to working toward a genuine sharing economy where workers own the software platforms themselves and set conditions according to their own needs. It all sounds deeply challenging, but if the Uber drivers I met in the center of town are anything to go by, a struggle for rights in the UK's sharing economy is about to truly begin.Follow Philip Kleinfeld on Twitter.Over on VICE News: Selfie Soldiers – Russia Check in to Ukraine