*Disclosure: This is part of a paid sponsorship on behalf of the Yes On Prop 22 Campaign. All thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own.
App-based delivery services have been one of my biggest timesavers as a working mom. Pre-pandemic I ordered groceries so I could spend more time at home with our family (I even mentioned this last year as one of my biggest tips for working moms). Now, flash forward to 2020 and our family has lived off of app-based delivery services like Instacart since March. It’s been seven months since we last went to the grocery store. We have family members we see who are in the high risk category and we want to minimize our risk as much as possible by getting groceries delivered to our home.
I’ve saved hundreds of hours to date shopping with Instacart. App-Based deliveries save me time and money as impulse purchases rarely make it onto my shopping list. My family is so grateful to app-based drivers who shop for us, especially during this time, and we make sure to tip generously on every order.
I’m working with the Yes on Prop 22 campaign because I support the gig economy. I understand and embrace the flexibility freelancing brings, especially to working families. Here are the main reasons why I believe voting Yes on Prop 22 is important for our community.
Flexibility
Voting Yes on Prop 22 will allow drivers to remain classified as independent contractors. Flexibility is one of the main reasons I started consulting in social media marketing years ago. I knew I was good at my job (marketing), and I wanted to be able to get work done on my terms while being present for my family. I work with a lot of independent contractors in my business who have also chosen to be freelancers because of the flexibility it provides. Flexible scheduling is a big reason many parents drive for app-based services too. Last year when I took a predawn Uber to the airport, my driver told me how he drives at night after his day job to save money to take his wife and three children on a Disney cruise each year.
Drivers support Prop 22 on a 4-1 basis.
When the safer at home orders were issued back in March, I had several close friends who started driving for Instacart. One is a college student who arranged her driving schedule around her school schedule. For her this arrangement was much better than working a job with set hours. Another friend had a full-time job, but picked up Instacart shifts on the weekends to provide additional income for his family during these unprecedented times.
With Prop 22 that part time student would have access to a healthcare fund working as little as 15 hours a week. A full-time app driver could even have healthcare from two different companies as full time benefits kick in at just 25 hours a week.
As parents, we need flexibility to work around our family’s schedules now more than ever.
New Safety Precautions
As I did more research on Prop 22 I learned some things I did not know before about app-based driving. For example, there will be a cap on the number of hours a driver can work in any given period to prevent sleepy or distracted driving. Yes on Prop 22 will also make it a crime to impersonate an app-based driver. I was a little surprised to find out that this isn’t already a crime. I haven’t used rideshare apps since quarantine because we don’t go anywhere, but knowing that these measures are in place when things become “normal” again will give me even more peace of mind. There are lots of other parts to the bill like recurring background checks and driver training. Overall, the safety Prop 22 adds to our communities has garnered wide bipartisan support.
Good for our community
Everyone is going through challenging times right now, and everyone has a story. I love hearing the stories from those in the community. Yes on Prop 22 makes our communities safer and stronger.
Overall
I’d like to encourage my friends and colleagues to stand with the app based drivers and vote yes on 22. Talk to the drivers you interact with and see what they have to say. Mail in voting has begun and Prop 22 will preserve our safety, our small businesses, and the moms and dads who drive in the evenings and during school/distance learning hours.
Be sure to follow Yes on Prop 22 everywhere:
Twitter: @YesOnProp22
Facebook: @YesOnProp22
Instagram: @YesOnProp22
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