American elections: California must also determine the status of VTC drivers

For Uber and Lyft, the local referendum on the status of VTC drivers is a major issue.

REUTERS / Lucy Nicholson

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

In California, the result of the presidential election is beyond doubt as the democratic victory in the most liberal state of the country seems acquired.

The suspense will rather come from the local referundums.

Because the Golden State is also called upon to vote on a dozen local referundums.

Among these, some concern rent control, others the right to vote of former prisoners.

But the one on uberization could have strong consequences on the 5th largest economy on the planet, because it must determine the status of independent or salaried VTC drivers.

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With our correspondent in San Francisco,

It is Proposition 22 that is gaining the most attention in California, a simple question asked to voters on the same ballot as the presidential ballot: do you consider VTC drivers to be self-employed?

It is the giants of the VTC and the delivery applications that are at the origin of this referundums.

To take full advantage of California direct democracy, the giants of the Gig Economy have themselves collected the necessary signatures to launch a popular initiative referundum in California.

Lyft, Uber, Doordash, and Instacart also spent more than $ 200 million on advertising to get voters to vote “yes”.

An unprecedented amount for a local referundum.

Opposite their opponents, mostly unions, spent only 15 million.

The stakes are huge.

This prop 22 aims to cancel

to requalify workers in the Gig Economy into employees and thus allow them to benefit from unemployment and health insurance.

Legislation which, according to the platforms, endangers the very existence of their economic model while Lyft and Uber are still not beneficiaries.

Sued by the California Attorney General for refusing to apply the law, this referendum is therefore their last resort.

On average, barely 5% of referendums end in California.

This time the polls give the yes and the no.

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