The Way We Work Now

I Lost My Vons Delivery Job to California’s Prop 22

I voted for the ballot measure because I thought it’d help drivers like me. Now I’m out of a job.

Photo illustration; source: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

The Way We Work Now is a series chronicling how people’s lives and careers have fundamentally changed because of the pandemic.

This anonymous delivery driver, 39, spoke with Mai Tran about being laid off from the grocery store Vons after its parent company, Albertsons, announced it will no longer offer in-house delivery services to customers. The decision comes after California passed Proposition 22, a ballot measure favored by gig economy companies like Uber and Lyft, which now designates drivers as independent contractors instead of employees.

All the drivers found out about the layoffs on December 8, when we got an abrupt message saying we had a mandatory conference call. Other drivers were extremely upset. Everyone had questions: “What’s the deal? I thought we were making good business.” The company tried to smooth it over by saying, “We understand that you’re upset and this is a hard decision.” Well, it’s not exactly a hard decision when you’re just looking at figures and numbers on a screen.