Today’s signing of AB 5 is one of the most significant victories for workers in a generation. For far too long, big corporations skirted their responsibility to provide basic protections to workers by calling them independent contractors instead of recognizing them as employees. With his signature on AB 5, Gov. Newsom sends a clear message that blatant exploitation of working people won’t be tolerated in California.

AB 5 is now the law because workers fought to make this day happen. This is their victory. Working people stood up to some of the biggest corporations in the world, and won. In the coming months the California labor movement will be laser-focused on implementing and enforcing AB 5, ensuring workers are granted the protections they deserve under the law. We won’t rest until all misclassified workers in California receive the basic protections they deserve, including the right to form or join a union.  We look forward to working with the Newsom administration to implement the law and hold corporations accountable to it.

While this is a huge victory for working people in California, it also shifted the discussion on workers’ rights nationally. California’s leadership on this issue opens the door for other states to follow suit. We thank bill author Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez for championing this measure, legislative leadership for their strong support and Gov. Newsom for his leadership in making AB 5 the law of the land in California. And most of all, we are eternally grateful to every worker who advocated tirelessly to make this historic victory happen.