Prop 22: A Monumental Struggle for Worker’s Rights and Dignity
The outcome of this ballot measure will impact worker’s rights and the nature of work itself for the next decade or more.
The moment AB 5 had passed, a California law to make companies like Uber, Lyft and Door Dash treat their drivers like employees rather than independent contractors or drivers, began to wage an all-out campaign to see it repealed. Over the past decade, the “gig economy” has grown exponentially. Rather than a single full-time job being sufficient for those to meet their basic needs, more people are working multiple part time jobs or gigs to make less money. It’s a fact that the business models of these companies are built on underpaying their workers. Even then, Uber lost 8.5 billion dollars in 2019, proving all of this is built on a house of cards. Prop 22 would seek to cement their independent contractors as second-class workers likely for good. The consequences extend beyond to nearly all of American politics. It could signal and even further attack tidal wave against worker’s rights as well as Silicon Valley cementing themselves as feudal overlords of California.
It needs to be clear what the difference is for workers on whether Prop 22 passes. By exempting Uber, Lyft, and similar companies, drivers lose out on health care benefits, being paid a minimum wage, collective bargaining rights to join a union, and unemployment benefits. Ads for Prop 22 talk about giving health care and benefits to these drivers, but when calculated its either vague or woefully under the standards of what benefits would be given otherwise. There is “assistance” for health care premiums and disability coverage for those injured on the job only. The wages guaranteed are 120% of the local minimum wage, but this only counts during driving people to and from, the in between of waiting or going from a drop off to the next pick up are entirely unpaid hours. One study estimates the guaranteed wage will amount to 5 and a half dollars an hour when factoring in downtime and expenses.
Some people earnestly might reply that maybe workers don’t want to become full time, that these jobs are desired for the “flexibility” that comes with being an independent contractor. But about 3 quarters of gig workers are working 30 hours a week or more, essentially having them work full time already for substandard wages and no benefits. Uber and Lyft are also the ones setting the base fares, dictate which routes to take and have even denied drivers access to the app. There is nothing independent or flexible about this job, and AB 5 did nothing to remove this flexibility. If Prop 22 fails, it’s likely that there will be a price increase, kept low simply to undercut the various forms of public transit, but this would also mean workers would only benefit from a larger increase of money flowing into these companies.
Prop 22 is being flooded with money, over 200 million dollars now, the most expensive ballot campaign in California history. With only ten million being raised for the opposition, the battle is lopsided although polling is still even. Politically, Uber and Lyft have picked up significant non-buisness allies in their fight like the California NAACP and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, although gig workers are majority minority, and there are conflicting studies on if Uber and Lyft have reduced drunk driving. Even in the case of passage, there is no indication Uber and Lyft just end entirely.
While the No on 22 side has the California Democratic Party as well as the endorsements of Biden, Harris, and Warren, this is clearly not a focus for the Democratic Party or its coalition of interest groups. With Uber and Lyft flooding the airwaves, its clear there would need to be a substantial pushback. Not only is the funding for No on 22 incredibly small, but it’s also just not a general focus from the Democratic apparatus. As I mentioned in the Prop 15 article, it is incredibly important what high ranking Democrats are saying about any given issue. When they are vocal about something, their voters will follow in stead. The fate of 22 could entirely fall upon the fact Democrats did a collective shrug.
Prop 22 has a clause that means it can only be amended if 7/8ths of the legislature, essentially making it impossible to change given that the California State Legislature can hardly pass things with a majority when they have 2/3rds of both chambers. If it passes, it makes this an effective coup on the regular governing process. Anytime a law is passed in California that a corporation doesn’t like, they can unload their near infinite amounts of cash to veto it. It will also begin a trend in which “traditional work” gets whittled away at. Already, union membership is at an all-time low. The combination of Prop 22 and a pandemic means that workers will be further insulated from each other and the work vs life divide evaporates. It is a step towards tech overlords cementing their spot as the real power brokers and decision makers in the country. This is the most important contest that is happening in 2020, and it’s essential for workers everywhere that Prop 22 fails.
