Thread by @thekimkavin

1/10 So. There was quite the little dustup yesterday in the comments on this tweet from @LeaderHoyer about @TheDemocrats' intention to start trying to pass the #PROAct on March 8.

Let's discuss what these comments taught us.

https://twitter.com/LeaderHoyer/status/1364664790841495560?s=20

2/10 Proponents of the effort to outlaw most IC work have one main talking point. It is the same exact talking point we have heard in calls with the staffers who work for the bill's sponsors. These people are all reading from the same script in trying to defend the #PROAct.

3/10 This talking point is some version of, "The ABC Test in the #PROAct is only for the purpose of union organizing. It doesn't affect wages, hours or terms of employment."

Here's why they're using that language, and why their argument is disingenuous.

4/10 @POTUS has clearly stated his plan to make the ABC Test from California the basis of all labor, employment and tax law.

Here's a screen shot of the president's own words, or you can find this same language on this page of his campaign website: joebiden.com/empowerworkers/

5/10 On a technical level, #PROAct proponents are saying the bill only uses the ABC Test for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act. That means labor law.

In other words, this is step one in president's plan. #PROAct is the labor part of "labor, employment and tax law."

6/10 When proponents say the bill doesn't encompass wage and hour law, it's because the #PROAct only adds the ABC Test to the National Labor Relations Act. It doesn't also add ABC into the Fair Labor Standards Act, for wage and hour.

But again, the #PROAct is just step one.

7/10 The bill for step two, to add the ABC Test into employment law (wage and hour) via the Fair Labor Standards Act, is already written. The same senator who is sponsoring the #PROAct also sponsored Bill No. 2 last year. Here's the press release.

help.senate.gov/ranking/newsro…

8/10 So, when #PROAct proponents say, "this doesn't affect wage and hour law," our answer is, "The PRO Act is step one in a plan to do exactly that by making California's ABC Test the law of the land."

You can back that up with the documentation above.

And then ...

9/10 ... when they say, "but the PRO Act only uses the ABC Test for unionizing, not for wages or terms of employment," ask them this:

What good is having a union if it can't do anything about wages or terms of employment?

(It's no good, unless it's part of the bigger plan.)

10/10 The fact that #PROAct proponents resort to this mind-numbing legalese tells us they can't defend the bill in plain English.

We can be clear: California's ABC Test law was a disaster. It cannot be replicated nationwide, as the #PROAct begins to do.

#FightForFreelancers