Arguments are the opinions of the authors, and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency.
ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION 22
Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash paid to put Proposition 22 on the November ballot. They hired lawyers to write this misleading initiative and paid political operatives millions to collect the voter signatures needed.
Why?
To create a special exemption for themselves that will legally deny their driver's basic rights and protections at work like paid sick leave; workers' compensation, or unemployment benefits.
Prop. 22 ONLY applies to Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and other app-based delivery and transportation companies. Their goal is PROFIT. Only THESE companies would profit from this special exemption.
Current law requires Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash to provide their drivers with a minimum wage, healthcare, paid sick leave, unemployment, and workers' compensation coverage, just like every other California business.
The Attorney General recently sued them for breaking the law and for relentlessly avoiding responsibility to their drivers for years. With your vote, you can help make them stop! Vote NO on Prop. 22.
Why vote NO on Proposition 22?
Prop. 22 creates a special exemption that eliminates basic workplace benefits and replaces them with a new LOWER "earnings guarantee" and "healthcare subsidy" payments designed to save the companies money.
Prop. 22 contains deceptive wording to cynically try to convince us they are strengthening driver protections. The truth is, Uber and Lyft are ALREADY required to perform background checks, and the new provisions would ELIMINATE required sexual harassment training and the obligations on Uber and Lyft to investigate customers’ and drivers’ sexual harassment claims.
The bottom line: Prop. 22 is all about money. It's not about helping the drivers you meet if you use these apps.
The outbreak of COVID-19 further exposed these companies' refusal to treat their drivers fairly.
The New York Times editorial board recently wrote that these companies "have failed to enforce consistent safety measures during the pandemic, including providing sufficient numbers of masks or guidance on social distancing, while pushing workers to fulfill an ever greater number of orders to keep up with the rising demand for food deliveries."
These drivers, 78% of whom are people of color, are ESSENTIAL. They've helped California through the pandemic, and they deserve better.
We believe app drivers, many Latino, Black, or from other communities of color, SHOULD have sick leave, healthcare, unemployment benefits, AND flexibility in their scheduling.
So don't let Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash confuse the issue. They claim this is about "flexibility" for "part-time" drivers. However, current law in no way limits driver flexibility.
In fact, a University of California study found that a majority of drivers are not part-time, and over 70 percent of drivers for Uber and Lyft work 30 or more hours per week.
Don't take our word. Read for yourself at transform.ucsc.edu/on-demand-and-on-the-edge.
Prop. 22 was written by Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash for Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash, NOT their drivers. That's why tens of thousands of drivers have joined us to urge a NO vote.
Don't let Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash write their own special law.
Vote No on Proposition 22.
NOonCAProp22.com
ALVARO BOLAINEZ, Uber Driver
NOURBESE FLINT, Executive Director
Black Women for Wellness Action Project
ART PULASKI, Executive Secretary-Treasurer
California Labor Federation
https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2020/general/pdf/complete-vig.pdf#page=59
— Source: California Secretary of State - Official Voter Information Guide pp. 58-59
