If the outcome of the Trump-Biden match is beyond doubt in California, a predominantly Democratic state, the suspense is complete, however, on the fate of the “Proposition 22”, the referendum on the status of workers in the à la carte economy which must be submitted to voters on Tuesday 3 November, at the same time as the presidential election. A measure that revives the debate between California, the breeding ground of Silicon Valley, against the technology companies that have propelled on-demand work to the rank of a global phenomenon: the workers of the “Gig economy” (“Task economy”) should they be considered as employees or freelance contractors?
California believed it had ended the debate in 2019, when its elected officials, by a large majority, passed a law reclassifying contract workers into employees. Entry into force on 1er January 2020, the AB5 law requires platforms to grant drivers, delivery men and other temporary workers in the digital economy a portion of the services granted to “traditional” employees: unemployment insurance, sick leave, minimum wage, etc.
The companies concerned have never applied it, estimating that it would impose a 30% increase in their operating costs. After many adventures in court, and the threat of Uber and Lyft to withdraw from California, the litigation was put on hold, in August, by the justice, the time to know the result of the November referendum on the proposal. 22.
A compromise
The initiative is supported by Uber, Lyft, Instacart, DoorDash, and other delivery platforms. It presents itself as a compromise: the bosses of the gig economy offer to subsidize the health insurance of drivers, to provide them with a guaranteed minimum income and insurance against work accidents. To escape the debate between employees and contractors, they recommend creating a new category of workers: “Drivers dependent on an application” (“App-based drivers”), a formula combining flexible working hours and (modest) social benefits.
The sponsors of Proposition 22 have deployed unprecedented means: 186 million dollars in advertising, or 158 million euros, which makes it, according to the Ballotpedia site, the most expensive referendum ever organized in the United States – this , while the drivers had to fight to obtain protective equipment against the Covid-19. Uber and Lyft, which have never made a profit, together put $ 100 million on the table. DoorDash put in 47.5 million, Instacart, 27.5 million, and Postmates 10 million.
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