It's official. Gavin Newsom's war on workers has just been taken national by Biden and Julie Su. They've announced an "Independent Contractor" rule based on California's notorious AB 5 law. It will put millions of Americans out of work.
Here are some of the reviews AB 5 received in California:
-Newsom’s own former deputy chief of staff Yoshar Ali called it "one of the most destructive pieces of legislation in the past 20 years," adding, "It’s truly horrific how many people are negatively impacted by it."
-Former State Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said the law made him want to "picket" against the "bastards" at the Capitol and the special interests that "took advantage" of them.
-Andrew Cuomo rejected a similar law in New York, saying he didn’t want to "make the same mistake" as California.
-The Daily Kos warned other states, "Don’t make the mistake California’s Gavin Newsom did," with the site’s founder calling the law "disastrous" and "asinine" and its supporters "shameful."
-The head of the California NAACP assailed AB 5 as a "terrible law" and a "gut punch to our community."
-The CEO of the Black Chamber of Commerce called it a "catastrophe" responsible for "enabling, defending, and propagating systemic racism."
-Two hundred Ph.D. economists reported the law is "doing substantial, and avoidable, harm to the very people who now have the fewest resources and the worst alternatives available to them."
Yet Biden campaigned on a promise of imposing a new federal standard "modeled" on California's AB 5. He has now done just that, and has even elevated the architect of AB 5, Julie Su, to carry out this attack on the right to earn a living as ruthlessly as possible.
My husband lost work on independent films because of AB5. To be compliant, he started his own production company, and got audited by the IRS for 9 MONTHS. Turns out they owed him $$. It wasn't worth continuing the business if he was going to be harassed every year.
Independent truckers (outside of California) welcome to the party Uber/Lyft welcome back to the party! Too bad you wasted $200 million on prop 22! Lost income taxes and massive budget deficits here we come!
Here's One Trick to kill that kind of legislation: Apply it to lawyers. The Democratic party is full of lawyers. It's like with healthcare. You propose single-payer legal care and all of a sudden they see the problem.
AB5 always was intended to force people into being employees and subjects to CA union requirements. I am glad I was ready to retire when it became effective. It reflects Sacramento' view that ordinary people are chattel labor.
IN CASE YOU DON’T REALIZE HOW BAD IT’S LIKELY TO GET, HERE ARE SOME STORIES OF PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.
Most of the collateral damage is not reported by the media and remains under the radar. Those ensnared in its trap know all too well the damage that has occurred to independent careers and also to the thousands of small businesses hit with astronomical fines and penalties for allegedly misclassifying an independent contractor.
MY FAVORITE ANECDOTES ARE the ones about middle-aged Californians taking care of an infirm parent, who can’t take a j-o-b job...
@EmilyTVProducer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Many of the laws passed in California are really about the communist purges. Since the J6 Coup, the communists have allied with fascist oligarchs and it’s gone national.
It's always about the $$$$
Many of the laws passed in California are really about the communist purges. Since the J6 Coup, the communists have allied with fascist oligarchs and it’s gone national.