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~ AB5 AND FLEXIBILITY ~
a thread
One of the sticking points between #AB5 supporters and opponents is whether contractors are going to be able to retain work schedule flexibility once forced to convert to employees under AB5.
They’re not. Here’s why. 1/
a thread
One of the sticking points between #AB5 supporters and opponents is whether contractors are going to be able to retain work schedule flexibility once forced to convert to employees under AB5.
They’re not. Here’s why. 1/
When a person is an independent contractor, there are very few laws that govern what that contracting relationship looks like and what the contract is and is not allowed to say. The main rules are to pay on time and to send a 1099 if more than $600 in a year is paid. 2/
With employment, it’s an entirely different story. Once you’re an employee, the employer is responsible for seeing that these workplace protections are maintained:
minimum wage
overtime
rest and meal breaks
sick and vacation days
health insurance (if qualified) 3/
minimum wage overtime rest and meal breaks sick and vacation days health insurance (if qualified) 3/
Now, #AB5 advocates repeatedly assert that it is possible to maintain flexibility as an employee, and that workers and bosses just need to have more imagination in planning it all out together.
There are two problems with this notion. 4/
There are two problems with this notion. 4/
1) There’s no way an employer can ensure all these employee protections are in place w/o putting their workers on the clock. It’s not possible. If anyone knows how to ensure meal breaks are taken & overtime properly calculated w/o having to punch in, I’d love to hear how. 5/
This is the lack of flexibility that Uber drivers, creatives, and other freelancers are decrying. One of the reasons we chose independent contracting is precisely because we wanted off the clock. 6/
The clock itself is inflexible and oppressive, and while we respect that worker protections are necessary for workers whose jobs require being on the clock, we reject the premise that we need to be on the clock to be protected. 7/
The Uber driver does not want to have to plan their shifts in advance. The freelance writer, classical composer, and professional transcriptionist all have no desire to log the number of hours spent writing a piece to make sure their client doesn’t owe them overtime. 8/
The idea that the work of a pro freelancer is “labor,” & the philosophy that the value of creative work should be measured by time, is what makes #AB5 so odious. Only union folks want freelancers to be on the clock. The freelancers are fighting for literally any alternative 9/
Which brings up problem #2. Even if you overcome these issues, how to get your employer to implement your ideas?
A: You have to unionize. Union people have been very forthright in admitting that the #AB5 scheme does not work unless all these new employees unionize. 10/
A: You have to unionize. Union people have been very forthright in admitting that the #AB5 scheme does not work unless all these new employees unionize. 10/
The problem is that not everyone wants to be in this particular club.
Union people will call you a shill and anti-worker for not being in their club. They’re wrong, of course. People have their own reasons for not wanting to join a particular organization and it is wrong for 11/
Union people will call you a shill and anti-worker for not being in their club. They’re wrong, of course. People have their own reasons for not wanting to join a particular organization and it is wrong for 11/
unions to assume what those reasons are.
What if I disagree with my union’s approach? What if my union reps are absent and nonresponsive? What do I do if I join the union only to find out it is full of a bunch of people who don’t like me and with whom I don’t get along? 12/
What if I disagree with my union’s approach? What if my union reps are absent and nonresponsive? What do I do if I join the union only to find out it is full of a bunch of people who don’t like me and with whom I don’t get along? 12/
All these are legitimate reasons not to want to join a union. And if you have a good reason not to join, then you have a good reason to reject #AB5. The only way you’ll have any hope of flexibility under AB5 is to unionize first, and even then, it‘s unclear whether a flexible 13/
work arrangement exists that also maintains all those employee benefits.
The better solution? Vote #YesOn22 and eventually #RepealAB5. That way, app workers get benefits, freelancers remain free to freelance, and no one has to join a club they don’t want to join. 14/14
The better solution? Vote #YesOn22 and eventually #RepealAB5. That way, app workers get benefits, freelancers remain free to freelance, and no one has to join a club they don’t want to join. 14/14
