Starting on January 1, college students, freelancers, and lower-class workers will feel the effects of AB 5. Created by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the law is being presented as an effort to maintain good jobs while creating new ones with a sustainable living. In reality, the bill aims to benefit unions while reducing freelance work while also infringing on First Amendment rights.
Freelance work is an opportunity for citizens to maintain a career while tending to other commitments such as raising a family or obtaining supplementary income while gaining a college education. Yet, AB 5 intends to diminish freelance work so that self-interested labor unions can blossom.
Gonzalez is essentially sending the message that the needs of citizens are less important than her unions. The regulation of freelancing is no coincidence, however. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez was a labor organizer prior to entering the State Assembly, because of course she was. Moreover, unions practically financed her re-election campaign, hence her incentive to prioritize union needs even at the expense of the general public.
In the specific example of freelance writing, AB 5 will regulate how many articles a freelance writer can produce for a certain outlet. Not only does the regulation hinder potential income for the writer, but it serves as a violation of First Amendment rights, especially in terms of freedom of the press.
The regulation of the written word is absurd and a gross overstep from Democratic legislators and Governor Newsom. However, it should not serve as a total surprise as Democrats have a tendency to sidestep constitutional rights in order to further their agenda.
The policies embedded within AB 5 are misguided and will produce significant repercussions. As someone whose job entitles serving the public’s needs, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez has failed miserably.
Her union-bolstering agenda will severely damage a wide subset of the population whose income and livelihood depends on the flexibility of freelance work. California is notorious for fringe policy, but AB 5 certainly sets a precedent in terms of harmful, ill-advised policy.
