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Everyone’s been saying you should only vote against Prop. 22 if you want to be an employee. The No on Prop. 22 ads are saying being an employee is good, so you should vote no. And the ads from Uber and Lyft are saying, if you want to be an independent contractor vote yes. Well, I don’t want to be an employee. The idea of losing gig work scared me. That’s why I voted yes.

I made a mistake.

It’s too late for me to change my vote, so all I can do is spread the word to other gig workers. If you value flexibility and having control over your own work, vote No on Prop. 22. That’s right — Prop. 22 doesn’t actually “protect” freedom. It allows companies to limit our freedom.

I’ve been doing gig work for four years, and I’ve worked on almost every app out there — Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Postmates, GrubHub and Shipt. I fell in love with gig work because I didn’t have a boss breathing down my neck, I didn’t have to worry about getting in trouble or being told what to do. When I first started doing rideshare, it was kind of fun strategizing how I could make the most money each day, choosing where to go and what app to use. On a good week, I only needed to put in thirty hours to pay my bills. But as Uber and Lyft got bigger, they started rolling out “pay model changes” that were actually just pay cuts. Soon, I found myself having to put in closer to 60 hours a week to meet my goals, so I turned to other apps.

They all pull the same bait-and-switch tactic: at first they send you the best jobs and it seems easy to make a ton of money. Then when you’re hooked, the pay suddenly drops.

I should have known that Prop. 22 was just another bait-and-switch.

But I didn’t really understand all the loopholes and fine print when I voted, and I was sold on the idea that it protected us. I want the flexibility. I want the hours I currently have. I thought if Prop. 22 passed, these companies would keep things as they are.

Prop. 22 does not keep things as they are. Yes, it says we’re independent contractors, but it doesn’t “protect" independent contractor status — it creates a totally new definition.

If it passes, Prop. 22 would create a new classification test for app drivers that says the only freedoms companies have to offer are 1) don’t “unilaterally” prescribe shifts, 2) don’t require us to accept “any specific” offer, and 3) let us work other jobs or gigs. That’s it. So if it passes, companies could call us “independent contractors” but limit all our other freedoms.

Under the new test in Prop. 22, companies could control how we do our work, and how fast. They could have us stick to a schedule we set in advance and risk deactivation for missing shifts. They could require us to accept a high percentage of jobs, or even assign managers.

I was so convinced by all the messages that said voting no would turn me into an employee, I didn’t realize what Prop. 22 actually did. I still don’t want to be an employee — I’ve worked minimum wage jobs before, a bunch of different jobs, and I didn’t like any of them. But I wish I voted no, because all the loopholes in Prop. 22 would ruin the flexibility of gig work.

We’re already being controlled too much as it is — I have very little say in who I deliver to and who I want to pick up. Companies already push the limit all the time, figuring out new ways to watch us and scrutinize our work or push us to accept jobs.

Prop. 22 would allow the apps to control us so much more.

They could cap our hours to avoid paying the healthcare stipend. Or they could force us to keep a high acceptance rate. Still being called an independent contractor wouldn’t make those changes any easier to swallow — I can’t afford to have my hours cut or be forced to take every $2 job they send my way.

Pay is the lowest it’s ever been across all apps. Under Prop. 22, it could get even worse, and companies could stop us from being selective about the offers we take.

Apps already deactivate workers for complaints or issues that aren’t our fault. Gig workers have to document everything in order to protect ourselves. When women are sexually harassed, gig workers of color are discriminated against, or any other time we have a negative customer interaction, we have to record it all because the companies never have our back. We are the only ones who are watching out for ourselves.

That’s why I’m so worried about giving them more power with Prop. 22. The California Legislature wouldn’t be allowed to create any new laws to give us more freedom, and it bans cities from passing laws for gig workers. So we would have no way to change it. If they’re already controlling us this much now, then what will they do when it’s impossible to regulate them?

From the way they’ve constantly cut pay and increased surveillance, it’s clear to me what the gig companies behind Prop. 22 actually want — to control us more like employees without paying us.

I know some of the companies have threatened to leave if Prop. 22 fails, but I don’t think I can afford to stay in California if it passes. The lack of sustainability and financial security is what scares me. Gig work is my lifeblood right now, and I need to be able to work as much as I can to save up for an apartment. Prop. 22 threatens that flexibility.

I think we deserve a lot more power as gig workers. The corporations aren’t doing anything good for us, but it seems like politicians aren’t listening either. It feels like both sides are playing a game. The companies used my fear against me. We shouldn’t have to choose between two options that don’t work for us based on fear. We should be able to get the freedom we actually need.

That’s why I’m speaking out now against Prop. 22.

If it fails, we have the chance to organize for what we want. What I want is transparency — that is true freedom. Protecting gig work is important — these need to be good jobs that pay well, especially because more people are turning to gig work during this pandemic. I don’t want to have to fight them for scraps. I want us to band together. First, I have to make sure other gig workers don’t make the same mistake I did.

Vote No on Prop. 22 so we can push for the laws we actually want.

Joseph & thousands of other gig workers who want the freedom of being independent contractors are voting No on Prop. 22 — because despite what the companies say, it doesn’t provide independence. Click here to learn more about how the law would allow companies to dramatically reduce gig workers’ freedom & flexibility. Then, click here to share on Twitter & help Joseph spread the word.

For more background, please read “Reading Between the Lines,” our report on how Prop. 22 would limit flexibility for independent contractors.