Meet the California Legislator Upending Big Tech

Leigh Giangreco
Leigh Giangreco is a reporter covering culture, politics and news. Her work has appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, Politico and Washington City Paper.
California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez

On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that targets Amazon's surveillance of warehouse employees. Earlier this month, another bill appeared on his desk, this one allowing restaurants to provide customers an itemized breakdown of the fees charged by delivery apps.

Both bills aim to take on Big Tech. And both were authored by Lorena Gonzalez.

The Democrat and assemblywoman from San Diego has emerged as one of the California legislature's fiercest critics of Silicon Valley's giants.


In 2019 she drafted Assembly Bill 5, which codified a state Supreme Court ruling reclassifying gig workers as employees. It also raised her profile. While Prop 22 overturned Assembly Bill 5, labor chalked up a victory last month after a California Superior Court judge ruled the ballot initiative unconstitutional.

All three bills threaten not only to change how these tech giants do business, but cut into their bottom line.

Gonzalez knows that tech companies feel victimized by her office. AB 286, her bill providing the itemized fee breakdown, is her latest salvo against them. The legislation would ensure delivery services pay the entire gratuity to their drivers, following a lawsuit alleging that DoorDash had stolen drivers' tips.

"We've been asked a lot, 'Why are you picking on us?'" she said. "But I just want people to remember that transparency in transactions is always good. We don't allow people to sell you something and not point out the taxes on it. We don't allow you to buy a car without knowing the add-in. So it's normal for us to look at transactions that have been kept secret, that keep the consumer from making educated decisions, we tackled that and that's what we're trying to do here."

Although a permanent cap on delivery fees failed to make it into the final version of AB 286, the bill still provides enforcement mechanisms to ensure workers receive their tips. It also allows the attorney general, city attorneys or district attorneys to pursue a civil court case, while another complementary bill says an employer can go to jail for stealing tips, Gonzalez told dot.LA.

"It's putting it in the penal code but it's also ensuring that adding into the discussion of what is a wage, it includes tips for independent contractors," she said. "So I think those bills together will make people think twice."

The bill Newsom just signed would require Amazon and other companies to reveal details of the quota systems they use to ramp up productivity in their warehouses.

At Amazon warehouses, workers have blamed the pressure to meet demands on unsafe working conditions and high injury rates. And a 2019 investigation by The Verge showed that Amazon had fired hundreds of workers at a single fulfillment center in one year for failing to meet productivity quotas.

For Gonzalez, a former labor leader who has turned her enemies' anti-union smears into badges of honor, her battle for gig workers' benefits follows over two decades of organizing. She unionized workers at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, where her mother once worked long hours, and was banned from all Wal-Mart stores following a demonstration demanding higher pay.

Her latest fight temporarily sidelined her from the Capitol: she was diagnosed with breast cancer in early August and underwent a bilateral mastectomy weeks later, announcing on September 13 that she was cancer-free.

Her work as an assemblywoman has earned her both a national reputation as a progressive darling—and detractors within her state's business community, including Rachel Michelin, head of the California Retailers Association.

"She's been very vocal about who she's targeting, similar to what she did with AB 5," Michelin said. "She goes after a few companies but sets out this large net and it has unintended consequences."

Michelin who called the bill "overly broad": also took umbrage at Gonzalez's political style, noting that the assemblywoman prefers to take to social media—where she once tweeted "F*ck Elon Musk"—rather than come to the table with the state's business interests groups.

"She responded to some of our comments online through our digital campaign, but not directly to me or any of our coalition partners," Michelin said.

California Assemblyman Alex Lee, who represents the Silicon Valley area, co-authored the bill aimed at delivery fees with Gonzalez. The young politician has known her since his time as a legislative staffer in Sacramento and decided to team up with Gonzalez after he heard similar complaints from his restaurateur constituents about delivery apps.

A self-described "Gen Z-er," Lee not only takes little offense when Gonzalez pops off on Twitter, he applauds it.

"She's an absolute fierce champion for the working class," he said. "There are other politicians who see themselves as great dealmakers, Lorena's more like, 'How do I get the most for working people?'"

As a former gig worker himself, Lee said he knows how AB 5 revolutionized the tech industry for those who labor in what he describes as "new serfdom."

At the same time, he points to the impact the legislation made on his peers from college, many of whom worked in contracted positions at Google, Facebook and Apple. While their white-collar jobs offered a lucrative salary, the companies didn't offer full-time benefits.

"For our generation, organized labor is like a foreign concept now. Just getting money in the bank is so important that you'll forgo dental and health insurance," Lee said.

"That's why big things like AB 5 and what Lorena does are so important. We are in this race to the bottom and it's not just the stereotypical person who works in the factory, it's people who have white collar jobs in offices, they're all in the same boat and that's why her work is so profound."

🍵☕️Top 6 Coffee Alternatives for Enhanced Productivity

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Matcha

Image Source: Jade Leaf Matcha

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Dandelion Root Coffee

Image Source: Amazon

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Adaptogenic Drinks

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Golden Milk (Turmeric Latte)

Image Source: Golde

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Chicory Root Coffee

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Yerba Mate

Image Source: Guayaki Yerba Mate

Yerba mate is a traditional South American herbal tea made from the leaves of the Ilex paraguariensis plant. It contains about 40-80 mg of caffeine per serving, which is less than a standard cup of coffee but enough to provide a gentle energy boost. Yerba mate is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, and users often report feeling energized without the jitters or crashes associated with coffee. It has a unique, slightly bitter flavor and can be enjoyed in various forms, including loose-leaf tea and pre-brewed options.

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LA’s Data Center Supply Crunch

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Friday Los Angeles!

The Los Angeles data center market is experiencing a significant supply crunch, ranking 12th in growth among top markets since 2020 with only 265 megawatts of colocation inventory (data centers where businesses rent space to store their computing hardware and servers). Despite this, demand is surging, driven by AI, cloud, and hyperscaler needs, with AI accounting for 20% of new data center demand nationally. This scarcity is creating a highly competitive environment, with vacancy rates at a record low 3% and asking rents rising 13-37% year-over-year. For Los Angeles, this presents both challenges and opportunities in the big picture. The city's strategic position as a global entertainment hub and its connectivity to international markets through subsea cables make it an attractive location for data centers. However, the limited inventory and rising costs could potentially hinder growth and innovation in the tech sector. To maintain its competitive edge, Los Angeles will need to address these constraints through new developments, such as GI Partners' 16 MW addition at One Wilshire, and by focusing on high-connectivity, high-power capacity submarkets. The city's tech community should prepare for a landscape of increased competition for quality data center space, higher costs, and the need for innovative solutions to meet growing demand, particularly in AI and cloud services. While Los Angeles faces a challenging data center supply crunch, its strategic advantages and ongoing developments offer a promising path forward.


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Daisy, a one-year-old startup that designs and installs smart home and office technology systems, raised a $7M Series B co-led by Goldcrest and Bungalow, with previous investors Bullish and Burst Capital also stepping up. The company has raised a total of $13.3 million. - learn more

LA Venture Funds


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    🌐Decentralizing Data & Vacations: Sony's Web3 Leap and Sensible Weather's KOA Partnership

    🔦 Spotlight

    Happy Long Weekend Los Angeles!

    Sony Group is making a significant push into the blockchain and Web3 space, leveraging its Sony Pictures and Sony Music divisions along with a new global incubator. The company has developed the Soneium blockchain through Sony Block Solutions Labs, a joint venture aimed at accelerating Web3 innovation. Sony is launching the "Soneium Minato" public testnet and a developer incubation program called "Soneium Spark" to foster ecosystem growth and adoption. The initiative includes strategic partnerships with Web3 companies such as Astar Network, Circle, and Optimism. Sony aims to create a fan community centered on creators and connect diverse values through Soneium, with the ultimate goal of integrating Web3 services into people's daily lives. While the company acknowledges the challenges faced by Web3, including limited user adoption and the need for mainstream use cases, it remains committed to decentralizing the concentrated power of the current internet landscape.

    In completely unrelated and more digestible news Sensible Weather, a leading weather protection provider that we’ve featured many times, has partnered with Kampgrounds of America (KOA) to offer Weather Guarantees at over 450 KOA Campgrounds across the United States. This collaboration allows campers to purchase weather protection for their outdoor experiences, providing peace of mind and potential reimbursements of up to 100% of their nightly rate if weather conditions exceed predefined parameters. The partnership comes at an opportune time, as camping has seen a significant increase in popularity, with active campers growing by 68% over the past decade. If you are looking to do some camping this fall make sure you look into Sensible Weather protections to ensure that unpredictable weather won't dampen (nailed it) your camping experience.


    🤝 Venture Deals

    LA Companies

    • Space and Time, a blockchain data warehouse developer, raised a $20M Series A led by Framework Ventures. - learn more
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    LA Venture Funds

    • Fika Ventures led a $4.55M Seed Round for Revenew, a San Francisco startup that aims to help digital platforms and marketplaces manage their payments and optimize financial operations. - learn more
    • Bonfire Ventures participated in a $25M Series A for Supio, an AI platform for personal injury law firms. - learn more
    • Amplify LA participated in a $2M Seed Round for Pryzm, a startup that provides tools and data to help businesses navigate government contracting more efficiently. - learn more

      ✨ Featured Event ✨

      LA TECH CEO SUMMIT

      LA’s tech leadership is set to reunite after a long break! This two day summit will focus on building strong connections, sharing insights, and fortifying the local tech community.

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      Download the dot.LA App

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