Let me get this straight: @JoeBiden supports #AB5, opposes one ballot measure relating to it, but fully endorses another ballot measure that counted on independent contractors to qualify? He’s not alone in this hypocrisy. Let’s dig in. https://twitter.com/joebiden/status/1265472291099549699

. @Schools1stCA is the campaign behind a November ballot initiative to repeal part of Prop 13 and raise $7.5-12b in commercial property taxes per year. I am not commenting about whether this initiative makes sense or not – just on how it reached the ballot and who supports it.

Ballot initiatives are expensive to qualify. You must gather enough signatures and that requires hiring many workers to go out and collect those signatures throughout the state. @Schools1stCA spent $5,458,215.15 to collect 1.7m signatures from an entity called “2020 Ballcamp.”

“2020 Ballcamp” is a weird name, right? Well, it’s a common practice in this industry to develop a front company to mask the indentity of the consulting firm. In disclosures, @Schools1stCA lists “2020 Ballcamp” with a Calabasas address.

There aren’t many consulting firms that do this work and Calabasas is a relatively small town. So which consulting firm runs “2020 Ballcamp”? PCI Consultants, Inc., “the largest and most successful full service petition and field management firm in the country.”

They did a great job by collecting 1.7m signatures in order to qualify the ballot initiative. But how did they do it? They hired lots of independent contractors!

What @Schools1stCA and PCI did is standard. However, many supporters of their effort are the most pro #AB5-ers who attack independent contractors in other lines of work, but have been silent on and enabling of the use of independent contractors working to support their agenda.

Here are @Schools1stCA’s supporters in labor. In fact, two unions, SEIU and AFL-CIO, donated $4,322,718.14 of the $5,458,215.15 needed to hire independent contractors to collect signatures and qualify their initiative.

Here are some of their political supporters – note @JoeBiden and others who have endorsed, advocated, and voted for #AB5 are included.

Also consider this: all of these signatures were collected after #AB5 passed and many after the law was in full effect and some supporters were asking for the law to be enforced on select independent contractors, but not signature gatherers.

#AB5 affects many lines of work – not just gigs – and pretending it is all about certain professions is disingenuous. What makes it worse is the hypocrisy where the work of some independent contractors is to be endorsed, supported, and funded while the work of others scorned.

“Corporation” doing a lot of work here considering these same concerns weren’t raised when Bob and AFL-CIO donated $4,322,718.14 to @Schools1stCA to hire independent contractors. #AB5