Excerpted from KUSI News San Diego
August 1, 2022
SACRAMENTO (KUSI) – A few weeks ago, Assembly Republicans sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, urging him to delay implementation of AB 5 or exempt independent truckers entirely from its employee reclassification (ABC) test. The Supreme Court declined to hear a case on June 30th that would have challenged the new law, now putting AB-5 on the fast-track for going into effect in California.
AB-5 was authored by former Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher, and San Diego’s current Mayor, Todd Gloria. KUSI News reached out to Mayor Gloria’s office for comment but they did not get back.
AB-5 has caused thousands of people to lose their jobs, and readjust their way of living. A fact Lorena Gonzalez flat-our denied when questioned by KUSI’s Ginger Jeffries.
As the crisis created by AB 5 worsens, more and more Republican legislatures are pressuring Governor Gavin Newsom to exempt truckers from the “ill-conceived law.”
Republican Assemblymember Vince Fong says AB 5’s impact on truckers hurts consumers, in addition to the 70,000 drivers and their families since it continues to exasperate the supply chain. Fong tells KUSI News, “If a broken supply chain and a loss of good paying-jobs are not worthy of the Governor’s attention at a time of record high inflation, I don’t know what is.”
Fong says the 70,000 truck drivers in question have no clarity on whether or not they will be exempt, and are just operating in limbo, with litigation expected in attempts to provide relief to these truck drivers.
Fong explained the problems with AB 5 in more detail on KUSI’s Good Evening San Diego.