Senate Standing Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement

All right. Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement will commence. Good afternoon, everyone. We are very happy to say we have one agenda item for this meeting. We're going to start with establishing a quorum. Quickly, before we jump into AB 1340, please call the roll.

Smallwood-Cuevas. Here. Smallwood-Cuevas, here. Strickland. Here. Strickland, here. Cortese. Cortese. Here. Durazo. Durazo, here. Laird. Here. Laird, here.

We have a quorum and so we are ready to begin. I see both authors are here and you will be presenting jointly, so please approach, approach the podium and begin when you're ready.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Members. We are here to present AB 1340, which provides ride share drivers, also known as Transportation Network Company or TNC drivers, with the choice to organize, to join a union and collectively bargain and negotiate for better wages, benefits and protections.

And it will empower hundreds of thousands of workers in California, giving more Californians the right to unionize than any other legislation in recent state history. It's a big deal and we're very happy to be here today.

Amendments that went into print yesterday on the Senate Floor make numerous procedural and definitional clarifications to the Bill so it more clearly sets forth a legal framework that will protect the rights of TNC drivers to organize, to choose their union, and to negotiate the terms and conditions of their work with transportation network companies.

The language further spells out detailed procedures for certification and decertification of driver organizations, negotiation processes and enforcement mechanisms aiming to improve drivers working conditions while balancing compliance with existing laws like Prop 22. We feel very strongly this is in compliance with Prop 22.

My joint author and new father, Mr. Berman, who just had a baby a couple weeks ago, and I remain honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with these 800,000 rideshare drivers as they continue on their journey. And we are here because these workers have advocated and pushed and fought for years to have a seat at the table.

This Bill will do exactly just that. And with that, when the time is right, we respectfully ask for an aye vote and would allow my joint author, Mr. Berman here to say some words as well.

Thank you. Thanks, Madam Chair. And thank you Senators. And I'm so excited to join my colleague, Assemblymember Wicks on, as she said, a really big deal.

As amended, AB 1340 provides rideshare drivers a seat at the table in deciding the future of an industry for which they are taking on the risk getting on the road and working long hours.

We were thrilled when the two Bill rideshare package came together last week because as Senator Wicks mentioned, this is a huge win both for hundreds of thousands of California workers and for millions of California consumers. AB 1340 will allow workers with the strength of a union to build a fair and sustainable gig economy that works for everyone.

So I'm excited to encourage everyone to vote I and uplifting the efforts of gig workers and respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thanks so much.

Thank you. And do you have witnesses today with you?

We do.

Witnesses, please approach the PO or there's the podium there, but there's the mic. Please approach the mic and you have two minutes. Is there one or two witnesses? Two. Okay, great. You each have two minutes.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Margarita Penalosa. I live in Los Angeles and I've been an Uber driver since 2017. I also am a very proud Member of the California Gig Workers Union, ACIU. When I first started driving for Uber, it was a part time job. It was a way to make some extra income.

But I found something really special in the flexibility in the people I met, in the stories I share with passengers from all over the world. For the most part, I really like the job that I do. But that pride has been tested over and over again.

But the way that gig companies have been allowed to treat us drivers. I'm here today to urge you to support AB 1340 because we the drivers deserve to have a seat on the table in a say in our work.

In just the past few weeks, as a Member of the California Gig Workers Union, I've been speaking to hundreds of drivers across the state. And when I ask them, do you support support the right to form a union, the answer is almost every single time, absolutely, yes, 100%. Gig drivers are tired of being treated as disposable.

We are tired of working longer hours while earning less and less money every day while these companies wear and leave, raise the prices for the customer every day. Where is that money going? Because it's not definitely going to us. AB 1340 is more than just a Bill.

It sets a clear path for a future where drivers have the right to organize and join together in a union, negotiate for better wages and better pay and better working conditions as well as protection against retaliation. I ask you to look around this room.

All these drivers, hard working, beautiful people who deserve to be helped, who deserve to have a say in the work companies for these companies that profits billions from our labor. A few years ago, I was unfairly deactivated just like that, I lost my job for three days with no explanation, no warning, no way to appeal. I felt.

Can you wrap up? Your time is up. I'm finishing. I felt invisible and powerless. But today I'm not powerless anymore. Because I'm not alone. I'm a part of a growing movement. Gig drivers across California are standing together and I'm asking you to stand with us too. Please say yes on AB 1340. Thank you. Next witness.

Good evening. Matt Lage on behalf of SIU, we are the proud sponsors of AB 1340. Want to thank our authors for their amazing work this year and thank the Committee for the Hearing. Appreciate the analysis. I know there's quite a bit to go through there and your staff did incredible work on very short time frame.

Respectfully asked for aye vote. I'm happy if there's any questions to take them. Thank you.

Thank you. We will now move to MeToos. Witnesses in support of the Bill, please step forward and state your name, affiliation and position.

My name is Michael Robinson and I live in Loma Linda and I've been a Lyft driver for 10 years and I'm a Member, proud Member of the California Gig Workers Union and I strongly urge you to vote yes on AB 1340.

Buenas tardes, mi nombre es Ofelia Rosas. Soy de Victor Beer California, este soy Uber driver for 9 years and I'm support to AB 1340. Thank you.

Buenas tardes. Mi nombre es Harwin Melendez. Es sido conductor de Uber por 6 años, y me disactivaron el Lyft sin ninguna razon. Soy parte de la union y les pido por favor que votan por la AB1340.

Buenas tardes mi nomres Yvonne Cabrera, vivo en San Diego. Es sido conductora de Uber y Lyft. Desde hace 3 años soy parte de California Gig Work Union, y les pido gente votan si a la proposición AB1340 por favor.

Jaime Polido, vivo en Los Angeles y trabajo por Uber y les pido que votan for AB1340.

Good afternoon. My name is Doral Mejia. I live in Intermol, California, just for over a year. Please support for AB 1340. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Eugene Cheng. I've been living in Los Angeles and I been working for Uber and Lyft for seven years and I'm part of the California Gig Workers union and I strongly urge you guys please support AB 1340. Thank you.

Hello, Madam Chair and Members. Ivan Fernandez, California labor fed and strong support.

Thank you. Okay, we will move to opposition. Is there an opposition witness here today speaking against the Bill? Okay, we will move to. Me too. In opposition to this Bill. You want here. Okay, Seeing them, we'll move to the dais. Senator.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll be brief. My phone. I respect everybody who's here, but my phone's been lighting up both in my district office and my capitol office from Uber and Lyft drivers who want to remain independent contractors. And I believe this Bill undermines the voter approved Proposition 22 that was approved by 59% of California voters.

I do believe this disrespects the will of millions of people who supported Prop 22. I believe this Bill attempts to and around the National Relations act, which excludes independent contractors, including APP based drivers under Proposition 22 from unionization.

Nothing wrong with unionization, but I think the will of the voters spoke on this and I do believe this Bill flies in the face of that Vote Prop 22 and again, respect the people who are here.

But my office, I haven't seen more calls than over today, both in my district and in Capitol office in opposition to this Bill. Thank you.

So I want to say to the authors, thank you for this important and historic Bill and bringing it forward. It has been a long time coming.

I remember the early days of organizing taxi drivers and the Taxi Drivers alliance to the work of rideshare union to now, you know, the fight to make sure that we ensure that every worker, gig or not, have the opportunity to have a voice on the job, to have a say in how safe they are on the job, to have some control over their wages and working conditions.

And I just want to acknowledge all of the drivers who are here, all of those who have come over the years who've told their stories and shown courage in this space. This is a day that we can be proud of. But it's also, you know, a reality that this process is never perfect.

We know that there are some folks who may be disappointed with this outcome, but this is what the collective bargaining table is all about, where you come to the table and work out those concerns and come out with a majority of voters, sorry, of workers having their grievances and voices heard.

And I think that's what we're doing here today is creating that opportunity for those drivers here in the State of California. I'm also really encouraged to see that, you know, business has come to the table, Uber and Lyft and worked with the union, SEIU to put this historic legislation together.

I know that you both support and will always be in support of workers rights and will continue to fight for these workers and ensuring that this process moves forward to completion on the policy side and that we will stand with the workers as they begin the journey of unionization. I will invite you to close.

I don't know if you want to address some of the comments that have been made before we take our vote.

Sure. Well, I appreciate the comments, Madam Chair, and the comments from Senator Strickland as well. You know, it's our strongly held view this will not violate Prop 22. And I think we also fundamentally believe that independent contractors deserve rights as well. You know, they're still doing a ton of work. There is value in that work.

And whether it's about negotiating policies around paid leave or deactivation policies or safety mandates or wages or all of those things, those workers need a seat at the table in the same way all workers do. And that's fundamentally what this Bill is about.

And it has been a long journey for many of these workers to get to this place. And this is a big deal. And it's because of the workers who have pushed for this at every step of the way.

In a growing model of work, of gig economy work, which has increasingly become more and more of how we're working, we need new models where those workers still get protections and rights because they're human beings and they deserve that.

So that's why we're here and excited to be putting forth this Bill, getting it hopefully out of Committee, off the Senate Floor, and onto signature from the Governor. So with that, happy to have my. Nope. Okay. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Okay. We have a motion from Senator Laird.

Assistant, Please call the roll on file, item 1, AB 1340. The motion is that the measure be returned to the Senate Floor for consideration. Senator Smallwood-Cuevas. Smallwood-Cuevas, aye. Strickland. No. Strickland, no. Cortese. Cortese, aye. Durazo. Durazo, aye. Laird. Laird, aye.

We have a vote of 4 to 1 and this Bill is out. Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations.

Okay, that concludes our agenda for the day.

If you have any comments or questions, please put them in writing to the Committee.

And with that, we are adjourned.