Dear Democrats

As the new year begins, the impact of Assembly Bill 5 has galvanized those of us who have been affected by the new rules of employment. Dozens of professions and thousands of independent contractors suddenly find ourselves scrambling for a way out that doesn’t involve incorporating into a business because we happen to work a side job ten hours a week.

The opposition to AB5 is huge, but in many cases professionals are trying to carve out exemptions for their jobs and ignoring others. The trucking industry managed to opt out, but freelance writers were told their suit was too little, too late. Other groups are trying to parse the legalese language to their advantage.

To me, it seems like these efforts would do better to kill the entire thing and send the lawmakers back to the drawing board. Picking it apart only serves to show just how unfair AB5 is to everyone.

I also do not agree with those who want to steer clear of partisan politics. This bill is 100% Democrat. It was written by an assemblywoman who curses like a sailor and dismisses us as whiners who are too dense to understand how fortunate we are to have her party looking out for our well being. It passed on a straight party line vote. It was signed by a governor who just dedicated millions of dollars to enforcing it.

California Democrats believe they have little to fear from the riffraff at the bottom tier of workers. We are, after all, musicians, journalists, community theaters, and cartoonists. What are we going to do? Vote for Republicans? Ha ha ha!

But unemployment does strange things to people. When one has to cancel that vacation, or start living on a diet of beans, or turn down the thermostat, they tend to get grouchy and vindictive. They might not vote GOP, but they could just opt out of voting at all. Democrats should remember that the second biggest block of California voters are independents, and even if they lean left, they might not always drink the koolade you’re serving up.

There are still districts in this state that can tip one way or the other by a handful of votes, and March is coming up fast. There’s nothing like the fear of having to go back to the private sector to make a politician sweat.

Who knows? They might even have to become an independent contractor someday.

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24 Responses to Dear Democrats

  1. Les says:

    If you don’t vote you have no voice. The Democrats in California are turning our state into a 3rd world country. They first went after the 2nd Amendment and now they are after the 1st. So vote your livelihood depends on it.

  2. Paul Kruze says:

    Oh my G-d, your commentary is masterful.

    Your closing line is wonderful:
    Democrats should remember that the second biggest block of California voters are independents, and even if they lean left, they might not always drink the koolade you’re serving up.

    There are still districts in this state that can tip one way or the other by a handful of votes, and March is coming up fast. There’s nothing like the fear of having to go back to the private sector to make a politician sweat.

    Who knows? They might even have to become an independent contractor someday.

    PLEASE! More of your great cartoons!

    • Chris Peterson says:

      My cousin Bruce’s wife, who plays flute in the Santa Rosa Philharmonic Orchestra, says they are having the same problems. This thing just keeps growing as we realize just how many people are affected by this ignorant piece of sh…legislation.
      The sad thing is, the Dems in power see ANY opposition to what they do as being conservative-based. It’s not! The majority of people affected by this law are talented, intelligent, and creative; meaning mostly progressives.
      I kinda get the feeling that, if Dems got their gun control laws passed, they’d end up shooting themselves to press the point.

    • Chris Peterson says:

      That the majority don’t know about it is a good thing, right? So, it’s a mild shitstorm now, but wait until it hits all those unsuspecting citizens; this thing will blow up!
      The majority of Californians vote Democratic because they feel they can do that and then not spend time keeping track of their representatives, believing that they are working in their best interest. When this hits the fan, all hell will break loose, signifying the end of Newsome’s upwardly-mobile career and hopefully, the end of all Gonzalez legislation.

  3. steve cottrell says:

    Bob:

    Guess I’m lucky that I only write a dozen history columns a year. Glad it’s not a weekly gig, or I’d have to come up with a clever pen name for half of them. “Mark Twain” has a nice ring to it, but I understand it’s already been used.

  4. Now that I’ve been cut back to two columns a month in The Union thanks to AB5, maybe I can make up for the slack by writing for the Mess or the Auburn Journal. Or maybe not.

  5. rl crabb says:

    Lorena Gonzalez keeps repeating the lie that independent contractors are tax cheats. Listen, babe, I pay my social security taxes every year. I pay my sales taxes to the city and state. STOP LYING!!!… https://www.redstate.com/jenvanlaar/2020/01/16/764041/?fbclid=IwAR2Q1U3XQxHTvxpygo_JW8MBhhTTrQtnU3YL4bMH5fdT74BxBdEn7tY3JY4

  6. Michael Anderson says:

    California Assemblywoman Lorena “unforced error” Gonzalez needs to admit her mistake on this piece of legislation and get rid of the (B) designation. How does “The service is performed outside the usual course of business of the employer” have anything to do with the reality of how employment has evolved in the 21st century?

    The (A) and (C) designations are clear enough to address the Uber/Lyft issue, which I thought was the problem that AB5 was attempting to solve. Gonzalez has been behind some fine pieces of legislation since she was first came to the 80th Assembly District in 2013, but this stinker threatens to overshadow all of her previous good works.

  7. rl crabb says:

    Karen Anderson has been an outspoken opponent of AB5 and the creator of the “Freelancers Against AB5” Facebook page, which now hosts over 5000 angry independent contractors. Many of those affected are lifelong Democrats who feel betrayed by their representatives… https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2020/01/24/another-voice-assembly-bill-5-harms-hundreds-of.html?iana=hpmvp_sac_news_headline&fbclid=IwAR29hqx3QP_tZn0Wmns51ViRWo4I7apjfRodo3_suBx3FvLU7lCLLjJD2Yk

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