Prop. 22 threatens all gig workers. We need a better path forward.

Prop. 22 passing in California is a serious threat to gig workers — but not for the reason you might think.

The message from both sides of the Prop. 22 debate has been that the ballot initiative is simply a way for apps to classify gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees. But in reality, the threat posed by Prop. 22 is about something much more fundamental than employee classification: it’s about the need for real flexibility and freedom in our work and our lives.

Prop. 22 doesn’t simply preserve contractor status — it completely rewrites the definition of “independent contractor” for app-based workers. It allows companies to ramp up their control over us, and ultimately treat us more like employees.

Hundreds of thousands of workers in California depend on the gig economy because conventional employment has failed us. Workers with disabilities and chronic illnesses need dependable income and time off for medical care. Parents need to schedule work around taking care of kids. People of color and immigrants who face discrimination need work that isn’t dependent on biased managers.

With Prop. 22, gig companies sold some workers on the idea that apps were trying to protect the flexibility we depend on.

The reality is that Prop. 22 gives workers the worst of both worlds: it allows companies to ramp up their control and limit our flexibility. And in exchange for our freedom, it offers bare-bones benefits that allow apps to keep driving pay and protections down.

Many gig workers have no interest in being employees. We know from experience that too many jobs are bad, bosses have too much power in our lives, and hourly scheduling too often means we don’t have the time we need to pick up our kids, go to school, take time off when we’re sick, or have a life outside of work. And when it came to Prop. 22, many of us felt backed into a corner. We were given a false choice between being reclassified as employees, without guarantees of the flexibility we need, or allowing gig companies to pass a new law they wrote for themselves.

Gig companies like Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber didn’t spend $200 million to pass Prop. 22 because they care about flexibility for workers. They did it because they care about flexibility for themselves, and protecting their freedom to maximize profits. They did it because their ideal world is one where they can treat us nearly identical to employees, while classifying us as independent contractors.

When gig workers talk about being independent contractors, we’re talking about the right to decide for ourselves when, where, and how we work, and the ability to make income even if we can’t hold down a conventional job. We’re saying we need an option beyond what employers have ever offered to us — the right to own our time. We’re saying the same thing workers said when they fought for the 40-hour workweek: that control over our time should not be a privilege reserved for the highest classes.

When gig companies talk about hiring independent contractors, they’re talking about having the freedom to underpay us, pass all the costs of labor onto us, and save money.

There’s a better way forward.

Despite all the divisiveness of the Prop. 22 debate, what it makes clear is that gig workers are actually unified in our goals. Some gig workers voted for Prop. 22 with the belief that it would protect our flexibility; many of us voted against it because we don’t trust companies to provide what we need. But regardless of where we stand, the vast majority of us agree we need better pay and basic protections, and we need real freedom and flexibility.

And above all, we need laws designed for workers, by workers — not by corporations, and not by politicians.

That’s why we’re fighting for the #PayUp policies in Seattle and across the country — laws that would guarantee us $15/hour for all the time we spend working, so that our flexibility isn’t limited by constant pressure to log on. Tips on top, so the money we earn is truly ours. And transparency from gig companies, so we have real freedom to decide what works for us and what doesn’t.

Here in California, the fight is more complicated. Prop. 22 contains provisions requiring a 7/8ths majority in the California Legislature to amend it, and it bars the legislature entirely from passing new laws that would protect independent contractors’ freedom and flexibility.

But we know one of the big reasons Prop. 22 passed is that there simply weren’t enough options on the table for workers. No one put forward a plan that would give workers what we really need — a guarantee of flexibility and better pay.

It’s time for workers to make that plan together.

That means unifying around what matters to us most, no matter how we voted or how we feel about issues like employee classification. Workers are the ones who should get to determine the future of the gig economy.

If you’re a gig worker in CA, join us on Friday 11/6 for an online meeting to discuss how we’re going to keep an eye on gig companies after Prop. 22 goes into effect, and our next steps in the fight for true flexibility and freedom.