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Karen Bass’ team looked at a 130-year-old LA program that actually got stuff done to fix roads — and torched it in the name ofcompliance with AB 5.
That’s the 2019 law that unions pushed through the state Legislature toforce independent contractorsto work as employees in some industries.
It’s a story of rigid ideology trumping real-world results.
For decades, independent owner-operators hauled asphalt, debris, and materials for LA’s streets and got the ax. Nearly 100 of these truckers showed up at City Hall in 2023, to protest the bureaucratic guillotine dropped on their livelihoods. The city called it following the law.
The financial bloodbath was, unfortunately, spectacular.
These weren’t app-based side hustlers; they were multi-generational business owners who had bet everything on the city’s long-standing contracts. Many were marginalized people of color.
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Families dropped up to $300,000per emissions-compliant truck, often using their homes as collateral, to abide by city rules. The city nagged them for months to upgrade their rigs — only to send termination letters shortly after.
The financial hit ran into the tens of millions. Surprise, surprise: Some drivers claimed the city waited until a $100 million federal road grant cleared before dropping the hammer.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
