Showing posts with label #JimCosta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #JimCosta. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Fantastic day of action in Sacramento at the Rally to Repeal AB 5​



It was a fantastic day of action in Sacramento at the Rally to Repeal AB 5​, hosted by Assemblyman Kevin Kiley​ and Melissa Melendez​. My bud and Faithfully Live​ colleague Jeff Salado​ were there to hear the compelling speakers at the event -- chronicling many groups of indy contractor professional careers -- including musicians -- devastated by the new law here in CA. https://tinyurl.com/qrwa5oq

It was important for us to make the drive to Sac not only because of the rally, but to tag team and meet with our lawmakers -- Assemblymembers and State Senators -- to express our thoughts and stories about AB5's impact on musicians (and writers, like myself). When it comes to constituent lobbying, it's just as powerful to meet with the chiefs of staff of the lawmakers, who are incredibly knowledgeable and have their ears to the ground on pending legislation, and they are often more accessible. We met with and delivered detailed formal letters about AB5 from a personal perspective to:

* State Sen. Anna Caballero (D-12) and her Chief of Staff Aracely Campa - YES on AB5;
* Chief of Staff for State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-05), Bob Alvarez - YES on AB5;
* Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Heath Flora (R-12) - NO on AB5;
* Staffer for Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-21) - NO on AB5.

The conversations were illuminating, particularly with those who initially voted YES on AB5 -- and how ALL want major changes given the colossal, career-threatening problems it has created for independent contractors professionals. I'll probably do a writeup on my blog or for Freelancers Against AB5​. One of the members of the group, Peter Kalivas​, spoke at the event: https://youtu.be/KXi8mJYD9IM



All have heard from many, many constituents about repealing or amending AB5 so keep it up with the personal stories (NOTE TO MUSICIANS in District 5 -- Sen. Galgiani's rep had NOT heard from music professionals before Jeff and I walked through the door today).

There are quite a few bills submitted that will be evaluated by the end of February -- including repeal, additional exemptions, and a small business exemption -- those and a number of others will be in the mix.  We plan to do follow-up meetings with the lawmakers as bills move forward to get a clear sense of their positions on the options to deal with AB5.

All the conversations were polite and engaging, and they welcome you to contact and meet with them, either in their Sac or local offices. They really do appreciate constituents who take the time to do their homework on the issues. They need your input to stop this insanity.

How to find your lawmaker to write/call/visit with: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov

NOTE: Contractor John Vogel (https://twitter.com/Vogel4Assembly) is running against AB5's sponsor, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-80), and promises to fight to repeal AB5.

Learn more at my pad: http://www.pamspaulding.net/

Good reads...  
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Sunday, January 26, 2020

AB5: See the stories of independent contractor lives shattered by the CA law

The harm of AB5 on independent contractors is not an abstraction or a political football. One of the largest grassroots Facebook groups where discussion about the impact of the law is Freelancers Against AB5 -- a clearinghouse of education, information, and strategy for citizen activism of the self-employed harmed by the law. Moderator Karen Anderson took it upon herself to gather these emotion-filled stories of shattered careers - now up to 113 professions -- adversely affected by the law and place them into an accessible database: https://rolls.bublup.com/Anderson/AB5-Personal-Stories:
Hello Members. Here is our archives of personal stories documenting the negative impacts of AB5 categorized by profession. This is a continuing work in progress that I can add to or edit at anytime, so keep your stories coming! There are 113 categories of professions thus far that comprise hundreds of stories from our members. (Photographers, I need your stories.) Please share on social media and be sure to send this link to your representatives in the state legislature on Facebook, Twitter and email.
AB5 harms hundreds of thousands of independent contractors that rely on freedom to determine their rates of pay, when and how they work. When AB5 was debated, select professions were invited to petition, er, beg for exemptions, while others with the same functional business needs were not. That in itself is discriminatory. Now we see independent contractors’ careers halted in their tracks. Notably, even clients of professions exempted from the law are bailing, canceling contracts because of the legal uncertainty and potential liabilities.

SB459 has been on the books since 2012 and it already addresses misclassification in fields where it is rampantly abusive. I do not understand why AB5 was necessary to implement in such a damaging way to so many segments of the economy. AB5 at the very least should be amended to include an exemption for performing artists and no limited number of articles for writers or exemption for small business; however, in the larger scheme of things, I have come to believe only full repeal is a solution. We cannot be patient for months for a fix or to find a way to “adjust” when all of these taxpayers all have bills and must keep a roof over their heads.

NOTE: There is a rally and citizen lobby day at the Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday, January 28 at 10 AM, sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and Melissa Melendez, both Republicans, btw, though this is not a partisan issue. https://www.facebook.com/events/2577638375849505/



Since shuttering my national progressive political blog, Pam's House Blend, back in 2013, AB5 is the first topic to re-activate me because it runs at the foundation of what I have done as a working professional -- I've been a small business owner, an employee of a large company, and a freelance reporter and project manager as an independent contractor. I’m a Democrat from North Carolina that moved to CA in 2017. Little did I realize that too many lawmakers here have taken leave of their senses, only proving a supermajority of either party can result in bad lawmaking and a heavy hand. The Democrats at the state and national level need to understand this is no way to handle labor in an economy so diverse and evolving in its make up. A sledgehammer approach is not healthy or resembles anything remotely like common sense.

As my blogosphere colleague Markos Moulitsas at Daily Kos (no Red State or Town Hall, btw) made clear in his post, "Democrats across the country seek to make California's mistake, destroying careers of freelancers," legislation impacting people’s ability to live should never be made in an arbitrary manner as AB5 was, and current DNC Chair Tom Perez, when he was Barack Obama’s labor secretary, aggressively fined bad actors under existing fed law.

**

How to find your lawmaker to write/call: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov

How they voted (and see how much money they received from Big Labor):
Sen Vote: https://legiscan.com/CA/rollcall/AB5/id/890316
Assm Vote: https://legiscan.com/CA/rollcall/AB5/id/890318

Just a reminder, folks. There is a federal labor bill that underscores the very ABC test that is decimating independent contractors here at the state level with AB5. It's H.R. 2474, and take a look and see who is co-sponsoring this bill.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2474/text 

Side note: Today I received a campaign call for my Congressman, Jim Costa, and said that I would not support his re-election if he supported HR 2474 as it stands affecting independent contractors. The polite caller took my information because at this juncture, he's not a co-sponsor.
So be ready to make your case now that the campaign calls are heating up.

How to find your lawmaker in DC to write/call about this legislation: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members

Good reads...  
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