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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

 

Some readers might have heard about the election on Tuesday.  Even as of this writing, there are still several races left undecided (namely the race for President, although some networks have just called the race for Joe Biden.)  While I do give nod to a potential Cabinet pick should Biden officially reach the 270 threshold for delegates, I did want to focus on two relevant ballot initiatives that voters decided upon this week.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Secretary of Labor Bernie Sanders? Perhaps...

Prior to this week’s election, Politico published an article that reported Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (who many might recall is a former candidate for President) had expressed interest in becoming Labor Secretary under a President Biden administration.  What might a Department of Labor look like under Bernie Sanders?  For starters, I think we would see an aggressive slant toward employees.  That would likely include a push for a higher federal minimum wage rate, stronger protections for LGBTQ workers, and an overall movement for more rights for workers.  Whether this potential nomination ever comes to fruition remains to be seen.  However, should it happen, employers would likely be in an untenable position so long as Secretary Sanders remained at the helm of the Department of Labor.


Uber & Lyft Score Major Victory With Approval of California’s Prop 22

With nearly 59% of voters in California voting yes on Prop 22, Uber & Lyft have managed to exempt their drivers from Assembly Bill 5.  What does that mean?  In short, these drivers will not be classified as employees and instead will be classified as independent contractors.  With approximately $203 million spent to support Prop 22, this is what I would call money well spent.  Now attention will turn to whether these gif companies can start to rack up similar victories in other states as they seek to have their drivers remain classified as independent contractors.


By Narrow Margin, Florida Voters Approve $15/Hour Minimum Wage Rate

On Tuesday, Florida voters approved Amendment 2 with 60.8% of votes in favor of raising the state’s hourly minimum wage rate to $15/hour by 2026.  (Bear in mind, the measure needed to be approved by at least 60% of voters to pass.  Polls over the past few months had indicated support slipping dangerously close to that threshold number heading into the vote.)  As Eli Rosenberg over at The Washington Post pointed out that this result was a decisive victory for progressives that had waged a hard fought battle to raise the state’s hourly minimum wage rate.  At this point, I would start to look at other potential swing states (along the lines of Florida) that would might take steps to put forth a similar minimum wage ballot measure.

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