Prop. 22 will roll back ruinous law

Proposition 22 on the Nov. 3 ballot would exempt gig companies like Uber and Lyft from a new state law requiring them to treat workers as employees.

This state law, known as AB 5, has been in place since last January, and has been hotly debated since then as gig companies have essentially said it will mean hundreds of thousands of contract workers would be too costly to keep on.

Newspapers such as the Sentinel have a temporary exemption from the law. AB 5 as originally written would have been ruinous for community journalism enterprises, which depend on independent contractors to deliver their products and use freelance journalists and photographers to enhance local content. These contractors are primarily people supplementing their income with part-time work.

Community newspapers are already facing numerous challenges, including the financial impacts of the pandemic; new state employment laws such as AB 5 would, and still could, mean your sources of local news and information would go dark.

We support Prop. 22, because it would unravel the economic consequences, intended and even unintended, of AB 5.

AB 5 required former contract workers in the gig companies to be classified as employees and to be offered benefits such as overtime pay, health care, paid sick leave, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation. If Prop. 22 passes, companies that employ drivers through apps — including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart — would instead keep workers classified as contractors; the companies would then be able to offer fewer benefits, though these would include paying at least 120 percent of the minimum wage, health care subsidies and accident insurance.

Benefits under Prop. 22 would provide drivers a subsidy for health insurance if they put in more than 15 hours a week on average, reimbursement for some expenses and some loss of income if they’re injured on the job, and protections against workplace discrimination.

The measure also includes consumer safety changes such as more driver background checks and zero tolerance for drug or alcohol violations.

The measure is being framed as a battle between the tech industry and organized labor. Opponents, not surprisingly, include most labor unions, along with top Democrats, including the presidential ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart among others have poured in huge sums to get Prop. 22 passed — more than $186 million according to recent filings. Opponents had raised a paltry $13 million or so.

For all the money being spent on ads and digital campaigns, polling so far shows voters about split on Prop. 22, with about 25 percent of voters still undecided.

Opponents say that gig companies are overstating job cuts and trying to scare consumers with threats about rising prices. They say the companies offer little job stability and end up exploiting drivers and carriers, who deserve protections such as paid sick leave and unemployment insurance. The benefits offered under Prop. 22, they say, are too modest.

The companies respond that AB 5 was authored by union-backed politicians to unionize workers. If this happens, they say, employment costs will rise dramatically, which will mean job cuts and much higher prices for rides and deliveries.

They’re right.

The ballot measure also would preserve the control that contract employees, mostly part-time, maintain over their hours and work schedules. Even many of those drivers who put in full days say they like the flexibility to stop working when they want, often to deal with family needs or other personal business.

It’s hard to imagine how the app- based services will be able to provide that same flexibility to drivers if they have to treat them as employees and provide the kind of protections AB 5 requires.

We urge a yes vote on Proposition 22.