A group of executives from Uber and Lyft in California filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court on Tuesday to overturn a ballot box measure that would allow businesses to continue to treat its workers like independent contractors.
The executives allege that Prop 22, passed by California voters last November, violated the state’s constitution by “illegally” driving the state legislature’s power to organize workers out of state workers’ executives. ‘compensation program.
“Every day, executives like me struggle to get by because companies like Uber and Lyft prioritize corporate profits over our well-being,” Saori Okawa said in a statement. ‘With Prop 22, they not only ignore our health and safety – they reject the constitution of our state. ”
The drivers who challenge the constitutionality of Prop 22 are supported by unions such as SEIU and the California Labor Federation, which unsuccessfully opposed the measure in the run-up to the election.
But in the end, labor was exhausted and maneuvered by companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash, which poured more than $ 200 million into the “Yes on 22” campaign to free them from a California law requiring them to treat their workers like employees must be treated. The companies aggressively opposed the law, arguing that it would eliminate the flexibility of drivers while also increasing consumer prices and waiting time.
The law, AB5, represented an existential crisis for the companies, none of which ever made a profit and which pursued costly efforts to develop autonomous technology in the hope of eventually replacing managers and delivery workers completely. In response, the companies proposed a voting measure that would keep their workers as contractors, while also offering a few extra benefits.
It is unclear how successful drivers will be at overthrowing Prop 22.. The measure was written to meet future challenges, including a provision requiring a seven-eighth majority of the state legislature for any change, and to ensure that it is anything but impossible to invalidate.
But executives are trying to use this language to argue that Prop 22 has been illegal since its inception. The plaintiffs note that California’s state constitution gives the legislature ‘unlimited’ authority to provide for a worker’s compensation system, “so that authority cannot be limited by a lawful initiative.”
“We look forward to the court confirming that gig companies cannot deprive themselves of their fundamental right to bargaining for better wages and working conditions – and that companies alone may not dictate the laws in our state,” said Bob Schoonover, president of SEIU Local 721, said. and SEIU California State Council, in a statement.
Successful voting measures have been revoked in California in the past, but mostly by additional votes. If the lawsuit fails, managers and supporting unions may be the only other way to overturn Prop 22 is another ballot.
Drivers are organizing caravans in San Francisco and Los Angeles to support the lawsuit against Prop 22.