By Larry Buhl
This article was produced by Capital & Main, which is an award-winning publication that reports from California on economic, political, and social issues. L.A. Taco is co-publishing this article.
[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]n the runup to last November’s election, critics of California’s Proposition 22, which rideshare app companies spent an unprecedented $224 million to pass, said that it would encourage even more companies to reclassify employees or fire them in favor of gig workers. Now home delivery drivers who bring food directly to residents during the pandemic are finding these warnings to be prophetic.
Starting in late February, Vons, Pavilions and other Southern California stores owned by Albertsons Companies will begin replacing their delivery drivers with independent contractors using a third-party delivery service. Drivers under the Albertsons Companies umbrella in Northern California are unionized and will not be affected by the layoffs.