Since it went into effect at the beginning of this year, California Assembly Bill 5 has threatened millions of jobs ranging from truck driving to freelance journalism, and it has killed thousands of them. But at least some of the gig workers affected by this odious legislation, those who earn their livelihoods on ride-sharing and food delivery apps, may yet be able to save their jobs if Californians vote “yes” on Proposition 22.
AB5 was designed to force ride-sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft to categorize their drivers as employees rather than independent contractors. Prop 22 would override AB5 only as it pertains to app-based industries, allowing those companies, DoorDash, and others to continue classifying drivers and deliverers as independent contractors rather than employees. To make Proposition 22 politically feasible, the ballot initiative is also packed with increased protections, such as app-sponsored insurance and payment standards. A number of recent polls have found Californians slightly in favor of rescuing ride-sharing and food delivery apps from being effectively pushed out of their state. If Proposition 22 fails, affordable rides and meals available through a few taps of a phone screen will be history in California.
That’s a terrifying thought even to the most liberal of Californians. It’s why Prop 22’s supporters include not only the businesses with a stake in the game and Republicans but also the California State Conference NAACP and Black Women Organized for Political Action. Unfortunately, AB5 has found a fan base in the national Democratic Party, with Joe Biden in support of expanding the law nationally.
The so-called centrist running for president has endorsed the PRO Act, which, on top of banning right-to-work laws, would impose a California-style gig work ban on the entire nation. Hence, Biden, Kamala Harris, and rumored Cabinet choices such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren all oppose Prop 22.
Without Prop 22, AB5 will wreck California in obvious ways, but already, the bill has wreaked havoc on contractors less capable of lobbying for themselves than Uber and Lyft. The Recording Academy warned that the unintended consequences of the law would make standard business arrangements among musicians untenable, and evidently, it was right. Even though the state granted musicians a piecemeal exemption from AB5, the law still forced the Lake Tahoe Music Festival to end for good.
Truck drivers unable to work thanks to the law have joined the hundreds of thousands of ex-Californians fleeing the state for redder pastures. Countless journalists have lamented that AB5’s article cap has ruined their professional prospects, and moms looking to subsidize their incomes with flexible gigs while the children are at school are left out to dry.
Prop 22 is not a perfect solution because it doesn’t repeal California’s noxious law. But it is better than nothing, and it’s a big enough rebuke that Biden’s camp ought to take it as a sign. If AB5 is insane for the most liberal electorate in the country, why would the rest of the nation take to it kindly?
