SAN DIEGO — Supporters of a new assembly bill gathered at Waterfront Park on Thursday morning. They were joined by the bills author Lorena Gonzalez as well members of Rideshare Drivers United.
Gonzalez said the goal of AB 5 is to get independent contractors the same benefits as any other employee.
IF AB 5 passes a full senate vote it wouldn’t just impact rideshare drivers. It also includes other independent contractors like truck drivers and hairstylists. The bill would require companies to reclassify certain employees based on a list of criteria and start offering them benefits such as minimum wage, overtime, paid sick days and paid family leave.
Companies who oppose AB 5 say they would have to lay off thousands of workers if the bill passes which in turn would impact the customer. Uber and Lyft say if they maintain fewer drivers then customers would wait longer for rides and ve charged more for those rides.
News 8 spoke with a Lyft driver who explained why he opposes AB 5 saying, “I don’t want to lose my flexibility of the hours. How many hours I can work, when I can work and how I want to work. If we pass this AB 5, most of that is going to be gone.”
The bill passed the Assembly back in May and now moves to a full senate vote in the coming days.