Uber—Uber spent over $200 million with other gig companies to pass California Proposition 22 denying drivers employee status
In November 2020, Uber alongside Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates spent a combined $200+ million to pass California Proposition 22, making it the most expensive ballot measure in California history. Prop 22 created a carve-out from AB5 allowing gig companies to classify drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, denying them full minimum wage guarantees, overtime pay, sick leave, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation. Uber was the largest single contributor at approximately $57 million.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deceptive Lobbying | +toward | secondary | -0.50 |
| Gig Worker Rights | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Worker Rights | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.983 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
Uber contributed approximately $57 million to Yes on Prop 22 campaign, the most expensive ballot measure in California history
Uber was the largest single contributor to the Yes on Proposition 22 campaign at approximately $57 million. The total Yes on 22 campaign raised over $200 million from Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates, making it the most expensive ballot measure in California history. The measure passed with 58.6% of the vote in November 2020.