The Fate of Gig Workers Is on California’s Ballot
Proposition 22 would officially make gig economy workers freelancers
Today California votes on Proposition 22, the controversial ballot initiative that seeks to grant companies like Uber and Lyft an exception to a California law that makes their workers employees. Roughly $202 million has been poured into the initiative, with companies resorting to strategies from sending deceptive mailers to printing “Yes 22” on delivery bags.
And there’s a reason that everyone is so amped up about it: Gig economy business models depend on classifying workers as independent contractors, who have no labor protections such as a minimum wage, paid breaks, or the right to unionize — though the initiative would grant them some relatively meager benefits.
Granting companies like Uber and Lyft this exception, writes OneZero senior editor Brian Merchant, threatens the future of decent work.
In September, I dug into the specifics of Proposition 22’s central argument — that gig economy workers are not actually employees, but rather some in-between category of worker that deserves an in-between category of benefits — looking at its history and the arguments on both sides:
No matter how the vote turns out, it will be historic.
