My first experience with a truly functional public transportation system happened in my 20’s living in New York City. The notion that a subway or a bus could take me almost anywhere I needed to go was mindblowing. I never worried about how my friends and I would get home from a bar. I never had to take car keys away from a friend who drank too much at a party. My friends and coworkers couldn’t believe that I’d never been in a taxi before I lived in NYC. I’d repeatedly explain to them that taxis didn’t just drive around looking for passengers in other cities the way they did in NYC. Often I was asked, “So if someone drinks more than they should, how do they get home?” I’d explain that when I worked as a bartender, we’d call a taxi company and then pray the drunk customer would actually stay put until the car arrived. Sometimes a taxi would take thirty minutes to get there. Sadly, customers rarely waited.
I was thinking about those exchanges when I was visiting my dentist. Since I was the last appointment of the day, and my dentist is directly across the street from a popular brewery, I sat and watched as happy hour patrons stumbled to the sidewalks, pulled out their phones, and requested rides home. I counted at least six groups get into the backseat of cars within the 20 minutes I was in the chair (no cavities, woo hoo!). I wished rideshare apps had been around when I was a bartender. It’s so easy now for people to do the safe thing. When you have better choices, you make better choices.
Here In California we are about to vote on Prop 22. This ballot measure has been proposed to save the app-based delivery and rideshare industry. Without Prop 22, hundreds of thousands of jobs will disappear. These apps rely on the “gig-economy,” where independent contractors, or freelancers, pick up work when and how they want it. They create their own hours, often using jobs with Uber, DoorDash, or Instacart to supplement income. Currently, more than one million Californians work for delivery and ride-share apps as independent contractors. If Prop 22 doesn’t pass, these apps will be forced to convert to the “classic” employee model, which would result in 900,000 jobs being eliminated. And with 900,000 fewer safe drivers out there, too many Californians will lose the opportunity to make the better choice after they’ve been drinking.
I, personally, am an independent contractor. That means I don’t work set hours, which gives me the flexibility I need to do that mom and coach thing. If I couldn’t be an independent contractor, my family’s life would drastically change. I would hate for that choice to be taken away from me, and I hate that if Prop 22 doesn’t pass, that choice will be taken away from almost a million of my fellow Californians. I would be a YES on 22 for that reason alone, but the safety aspects that Prop 22 would bring are what lead me to write this today.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving endorses Prop 22. Their research has shown that app-based rideshare services have significantly reduced DUIs and are keeping the public safer. According to studies by the University of California at Davis and Moll Law Group, DUI arrests decreased by 32 percent in San Diego, 28 percent in San Jose, 26 percent in Sacramento, and 14 percent in both Los Angeles and the San Francisco-Oakland region in the two years after ride-sharing began in each of these areas. With more drivers, more lives are saved.
Prop 22 will also bring on some other important safety measures.
~Prop 22 will place a cap on driving hours to enhance public safety.
~Prop 22 will criminalize impersonating a rideshare driver (I can’t believe this isn’t already a crime).
~Prop 22 will mandate on-going background checks and training for all drivers. This is huge for me. With the pandemic, Mike and I have used grocery delivery services often. I like additional layers of safety for my family and my community alike.
There are lots of other powerful reasons to vote Yes on 22, like this one, or this one, or what the actual drivers themselves have to say about Prop 22. You can also find a slew of other fascinating information on the Yes on 22 website.
twingles says:
Is this the one that will also affect free lance musicians and the like? Could decimate the entertainment industry too.
Jessica G says:
Hi Twingles, I’m with Yes on 22 and I wanted to pop in to answer that.
There’s a lot of confusion about who is affected. You’re referring to assembly bill 5, which voters had no say in, it just went through the California State Assembly and it did a lot of harm to a lot freelancers. Some of it has been rectified, some of it has not.
A yes vote on Prop 22 will save the app based delivery industry. So if you are of the mindset that we need to protect the ability to freelance we are with you.
Stephanie says:
Prop 22 ONLY applies to rideshare and app-based delivery companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Postmates, etc. There’s a reason why they’ve contributed $186 MILLION to pass it.
It does not have anything to do with other contract workers or freelance musicians. Those workers are generally not affected by AB 5, which went into effect this year.
The way that AB 5 was crafted was to make sure that contractors are actually contractors and not de facto employees. Obviously, the work that Uber/Lyft drivers do is 100% pertinent to the normal course of business for those companies.
The absolute worst part of this proposition is that it requires a 7/8 super-super majority of the legislature to amend it. This all but ensures that no changes ever get made.
Read the actual language of the proposition here.
https://www.oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/19-0026A1%20%28App-Based%20Drivers%29.pdf
Jen says:
Prop 22 does nothing for freelance musicians. AB5, which is the law Prop 22 is attacking, is the freelance law about making many freelancers employees. But there was also AB2257 which made exemptions for musicians, artists, photographers, and many other people so they do not have to be employees when they work.
Jen says:
Heather,
I’m going to have to disagree with you. Prop 22 is not about saving jobs and keeping rideshare in CA. It’s an attack on a law that Uber and Lyft are not happy about.
AB5 is a law on freelance employment that passed recently. It places limits on what can be freelance or 1099 work and what has to be considered an employee. Uber and Lyft were told they would have to consider their drivers employees and therefore would have to provide them healthcare, disability insurance, paid and sick leave, and minimum wages. Uber and Lyft were not happy about that and tried to claim that all gig workers or freelance artists were going to lose work. That wasn’t true as they also passed AB2257 which made freelance writers, photographers, translators, musicians, and artists exempt from AB5 and wouldn’t have to be considered employees by those who hired them. But Uber and Lyft could not make their drivers exempt. So they threatened to leave CA because they did not like that they couldn’t avoid providing benefits for their drivers.
Prop 22 claims that it will allow people to continue to work, but that’s only because Uber and Lyft say they will leave if it doesn’t win. They could stay if it doesn’t pass, but they would have to provide benefits for their drivers. They also would have to allow protections for things like if their drivers were attacked or harrassed on the job (right now, if a driver is assaulted, the company they work for doesn’t help them in any legal cases).
There is nothing in Prop 22 that says if it passes it’s the only way drivers can create their own schedules. They can have that if they are employees too. If Prop 22 passes, the only companies that benefit from it are app based companies, most freelance workers will still be under the same rules of AB5 and AB2257. This was only created by Uber and Lyft to protect their companies, not to protect employees in various jobs.
Every single person I know who works as a driver for Uber or Lyft agree that we need to vote no on Prop 22. We need to make sure those drivers are treated like employees and get the protections and benefits they deserve. They can still have all the flexibility they want, but they don’t have to worry aobut not having protections by the company they work for while they are on the job.
Jessica G says:
Hi Jen
Thanks for your passion. After being personally severely impacted by AB5 I decided that working with Prop 22 was an important decision for me.
I want to take a moment to restate that with Prop 22 drivers are offered substantial protections including:
· Guaranteed hourly earnings exceeding the minimum wage and per mile compensation toward expenses
· Tips are never part of the minimum base pay of 120% of minimum wage
· Funding for new health benefits for drivers who work at least 15 hours a week
· Medical and disability coverage for injuries and illnesses on the job
· Protection against discrimination and sexual harassment
I won’t try to change how you feel Jen, but factually 4 to 1 drivers want to remain freelance workers and we have hundreds of thousands of drivers who support Prop 22.
I also want to add that these are contentious times and it’s refreshing to have a civil conversation about ballot measures.
Heather says:
I have to respectfully disagree, as well.
There certainly are freelancers who love the flexibility and never want to be locked in an office. Many others are freelancing because this is the model companies are shifting to. It’s hard to get a permanent, full-time, salaried job in creative fields, for example. In my office, I’ve never met a contractor who wanted to stay that way. They ALL wanted benefits and salary.
Companies would rather pay you bottom dollar and leave you to shoulder the burden of higher taxes for being self-employed and paying for your own health insurance. This law will allow them to continue the capitalist attack on American workers.
There’s a reason Uber and Lyft are spending millions trying to get this passed rather than giving their employees fair benefits and wages.
They benefit from this. I’m sorry they’ve gotten to you with their capitalist lies. Jobs aren’t going away, believe me. They’re just doing their level best to shut this down but if it passes, they’ll fall in line because at the end of the day…capitalism. They’re just trying to negotiate the price of their employees with us. I voted no.
Heather says:
It really just depends on who you know. I have several friends who picked up jobs with Postmates and Instacart during the pandemic because their partner lost their job or had to take a pay cut. And as a freelancer/contractor, I have YET to meet someone who wants to be salaried employee, and I’m on contract with some major companies. Not every job has benefits. I’ve been a salaried employee without them. But, to your point, Prop 22 will require companies to give their drivers money towards health benefits if they drive 15 hours or more.
Of course this benefits Uber and Lyft and the like. But it also benefits drivers. It will actually help everyone on both sides.
As a side note, no one “got to me with capitalist lies,” (yikes). I’d already voted yes and turned in my ballot before being approached by this campaign.
Michelle says:
I think that you’re right. If you’re anti free markets no on prop 22 is the right choice for you. If you believe that we should all be allowed to work and earn in a free manner then yes is the obvious choice.
These drivers are screwed if prop 22 doesn’t pass. I really don’t know where else you can just show up and have a job so easily and a recession is coming, it’s probably already here.
Jana says:
This seems like a no brainer to me! I don’t live in California, but we have always had the same issues you addressed in Minnesota. I live in a larger city now, so ride sharing is available and it’s GREAT! I wish they had this when I was in my 20’s! A True Lifesaver!