72 MA Legislators, Boston Mayoral Candidates Annissa Essaibi George and Michelle Wu, Sheriff Steve Tompkins, and new community organizations announce opposition to Uber/Big Tech bill and ballot campaign on day of legislative hearing
Attorney General Maura Healey, California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, and dozens of drivers, delivery workers, and community-based organizations to testify in opposition to House Bill 1234, the Proposition 22-copycat law
Boston, MA – Opposition to the Uber/Big Tech bill and ballot question grew on Beacon Hill in advance of Wednesday’s hearing in the Joint Committee on Financial Services (link to live video of hearing), as 72 legislators, Attorney General Maura Healey, Boston Mayoral Candidates Annissa Essaibi George and Michelle Wu, and Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins joined drivers and community-based organizations in coalition against the bill’s massive tax break and special exemptions for Big Tech companies.
“Big Tech companies don’t deserve special treatment and exemptions from our labor and civil rights laws,” said Senator Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough), who organized a bipartisan letter in opposition to the Uber/Big Tech bill, signed by a twenty-six (26) Senators, a majority of the forty-member body. “Laws protecting workers, their families, and consumers are there for a reason and apply to all employers. It’s not fair or prudent to allow Uber and other tech companies to operate under their own set of rules, to generate even more profit, at the expense of working people, other businesses, and our communities.”
The twenty-six (26) Senators publicly announcing their opposition the Uber/Big Tech bill today include Senators Mike Brady, Sonia Chang-Diaz, Nicholas Collins, Jo Comerford, John Cronin, Julian Cyr, Sal DiDomenico, Diana DiZoglio, James Eldridge, Paul Feeney, Cindy Friedman, Anne Gobi, Adam Hinds, Patricia Jehlen, John Keenan, Ed Kennedy, Eric Lesser, Jason Lewis, Mark Montigny, Susan Moran, Patrick O’Connor, Marc Pacheco, Rebecca Rausch, Michael Rush, Walter Timilty, and John Velis.
“When Big Tech companies try to cut out civil rights or a basic minimum wage, we know there’s a disconnect,” said State Representative Nika Elugardo of Boston, one of more than 40 State Representatives who announced public opposition to the bill. “We are trying to make a more equitable Commonwealth. Not a permanent underclass of overworked and underserved workers. Uber & Lyft need to recognize that the future of work depends on equity and fairness for the people.”
The forty-six (46) State Representatives publicly announcing opposing the Uber/Big Tech bill today includeRepresentatives Christine Barber, Natalie Blais, Antonio Cabral, Peter Capano, Mike Connolly, Marjorie Decker, Carol Doherty, Michelle DuBois, Patricia Duffy, Nika Elugardo, Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Dylan Fernandes, Sean Garballey, Jessica Giannino, Kenneth Gordon, Tami Gouveia, Patricia Haddad, Jim Hawkins, Natalie Higgins, Kevin Honan, Vanna Howard, Patrick Kearney, Mary Keefe, Kay Khan, Michael Kushmerek, Kathleen LaNatra, David LeBoeuf, Jack Lewis, Jay Livingstone, Elizabeth Malia, Paul Mark, Mathew Muratore, Tram Nguyen, Steven Owens, Ted Philips, Maria Robinson, David Rogers, Lindsay Sabadosa, Adam Scanlon, Dan Sena, Alan Silvia, Thomas Stanley, Steven Ultrino, Erika Uyterhoeven, Andy Vargas, and Tommy Vitolo.
The Coalition to Protect Workers’ Rights — an alliance of drivers, delivery workers and organizations — planned a rally at the State House steps ahead of a public hearing to announce the growing opposition to the Uber/Lyft ballot measure and HB 1234, a copycat of Proposition 22, a ballot measure funded by the tech giants in California last year. The companies spent a record $220 million in California, largely on misleading television ads. Earlier this year, a California judge rejected Proposition 22 as unconstitutional.
The two candidates for Mayor of Boston also announced their endorsement for the Coalition, opposing the Uber/Big Tech bill.
“In Boston, we believe in an economy that prioritizes and protects the worker. We need fair, livable wages, workplace safety measures and real benefits, not tax breaks or special exemptions for Big Tech companies,” said At-Large City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, a finalist for Mayor of Boston. “I oppose this bill because empowering our city’s residents means holding Big Tech accountable.”
“We need a government that works better for small businesses, workers, and taxpayers, not enormous tech companies. The Uber/Big Tech bill would imperil the hard-won protections of Black, brown, immigrant and women workers already set back by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said At-Large City Councilor Michelle Wu, a finalist for Mayor of Boston. “We need to use every lever of power in city government to oppose this harmful bill and ensure that drivers, delivery workers, and all workers in Boston are treated fairly.”
Last week, the Coalition sent the gig giant CEOs a letter calling on each to testify at the hearing. The letter came in response to a recently released analysis by UC Berkeley that reveals that, if passed, the Proposition 22-copycat would create a subminimum wage for app-based workers, as low as $4.82/hour. The minimum wage in Massachusetts is set to reach $15/hour by 2023.
“Workers can’t live on $4.82/hr. Big Tech companies should contribute to Social Security, not fund a lobbying campaign to eliminate the minimum wage,” said Beth Griffith, an Uber driver, and Coalition spokesperson. “Some of these CEOs took home $100 million last year. If they want to change our laws, and cheat our system, they should show up and testify on their bill.”
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of California who led the fight against Uber and the Big Tech giants in California testified at the hearing.
“Uber and Lyft are back with the same playbook we saw in California: deceptive campaign tactics and unlimited spending to carve themselves out of laws that all other businesses have to abide by,” said California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) and author of AB 5. “HB 1234 and efforts like it are a thinly-veiled attempt by these multi-billion dollar corporations to avoid paying into unemployment, Social Security, and Medicare, and pass off the costs of doing business onto taxpayers. This fight is bigger than any single state, the future of American workers is at stake.”
“When workers are denied the opportunity to support themselves and their families, we all suffer,” said Sheriff Steve Tompkins of Suffolk County, who announced his opposition to the Uber bill and ballot question. “The right to earn minimum wage and protections against racial discrimination and sexual harassment were won over four generations of struggle for dignity and justice. In no way am I going to support corporate interests that take these protections away from workers. If this is progress, we must do all we can to stop it.”
Adding to support that includes the ACLU of Massachusetts, the NAACP New England Area Council, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, Worcester Interfaith, the Sierra Club, and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Coalition also announced new endorsements from:
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center
Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign
New Bedford NAACP
New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA)
Right to the City Boston
“All workers deserve livable wages and dependable benefits and this bill would move us further away from that goal,” said Marie-Frances Rivera, President of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “The bill especially threatens labor standards for Black and Brown workers across the Commonwealth.”
“In the fight for social and economic justice, the Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign is standing front and center in support of all workers in their struggle for decency and simple human justice,” said Reverend Savina Martin of the Poor People’s Campaign, which endorsed the Coalition. “Workers denied adequate compensation and benefits by large corporate interests, not only harms those most affected by the problem, but indeed all workers. The fight waged by gig workers is our fight and The Poor People’s campaign is honored to play a role.”
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About the Coalition:
Twitter: @noprop22ma | FB: @NoProp22MA | www.noprop22ma.com
The Coalition to Protect Workers’ Rights is a growing alliance of drivers, delivery workers, consumer advocates, civil rights organizations, immigrant, faith, labor, community organizing, racial and environmental justice groups who oppose the $100M+ campaign by Big Tech companies to undermine our law, as they recently did in California through Proposition 22, to avoid paying taxes and Social Security, shield themselves from liability to the public, and win special exemptions from labor and civil rights laws.