In this Aug. 28, 2019, photo, supporters of a measure to limit when companies can label workers as independent contractors drive their cars past the Capitol during a rally in Sacramento, Calif. California lawmakers are debating a bill that would make companies like Uber and Lyft label their workers as employees, entitling them to minimum wage and benefits. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Organized labor is flexing its muscles in a pitched battle with Big Tech in California - far from the traditional union strongholds in industrial states.
And the Democrats who want to be president aren't shy about picking sides.
It's a rare case of presidential politics playing a high-profile role in a state policy dispute.
The California clash is between labor unions and tech giants such as Uber and Lyft, and it involves the very definition of work in a changing economy.
A labor-backed bill would make it harder for tech companies to classify workers as independent contractors, who aren't entitled to minimum wage or workers' compensation.
It's a debate with national implications.
And just as the nature of labor is changing, so too is the notion of the "labor vote."
In this Aug. 28, 2019, photo, supporters of a measure to limit when companies can label workers as independent contractors rally at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. California lawmakers are debating a bill that would make companies like Uber and Lyft label their workers as employees, entitling them to minimum wage and benefits. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
The Associated Press
FILE -In this July, 9, 2019, file photo, ride-share driver Pierre Finley, right, a supporter of a measure to limit when companies can label workers as independent contractors, questions Ruben Houghtailing, about his opposition to the bill, during a rally in Sacramento, Calif. California lawmakers are debating a bill that would make companies like Uber and Lyft label their workers as employees, entitling them to minimum wage and benefits. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
The Associated Press
FILE-- In this Aug. 28, 2019, photo, supporters of a measure to limit when companies can label workers as independent contractors display banners in support of the bill during a rally at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. California lawmakers are debating a bill that would make companies like Uber and Lyft label their workers as employees, entitling them to minimum wage and benefits. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
The Associated Press
In this Aug. 28, 2019, photo, supporters of a measure to limit when companies can label workers as independent contractors circle the Capitol during a rally in Sacramento, Calif. California lawmakers are debating a bill that would make companies like Uber and Lyft label their workers as employees, entitling them to minimum wage and benefits. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this July 10, 2019, file photo Erica Murphy, a member of Iron Workers Union 378, joined other union members and supporters of a bill to limit when companies can label workers as independent contractors, at a rally in Sacramento, Calif. California lawmakers are debating a bill that would make companies like Uber and Lyft label their workers as employees, entitling them to minimum wage and benefits. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
The Associated Press
In this Aug. 28, 2019, photo, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, speaks at rally calling for passage of her measure to limit when companies can label workers as independent contractors at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. California lawmakers are debating a bill that would make companies like Uber and Lyft label their workers as employees, entitling them to minimum wage and benefits. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
The Associated Press