‘Yashar’s not a journalist’: California Dem gets into a fight with Yashar Ali over the state’s new awful freelancer bill

There’s a new law in California that looks to regulate the number of freelance pieces a writer can get paid for per year before the publication has to consider them a full-time employee:
This cap? 35 articles a year:
California is capping freelance writer articles at 35 a year. I could pass that in a month. It’s absolutely ridiculous that the government here wants to hurt people who choose to freelance and have a more flexible career.

2,222 people are talking about this
Needless to say, many freelancers are pissed:
I don’t want to be employed. I’m a full time graduate student and I was just starting to plan to write more for income.

122 people are talking about this
The Dems are just trying to help!
What they want has nothing to do with it as the state knows best:
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez is one of the champions of the law:
And here she is fighting with journalist Yashar Ali who called her out:
California Assemblywoman @LorenaSGonzalez has launched a direct attack on press freedoms with her bill.

I’d say she should be ashamed of herself, but knowing her, shame is not a sensation she’s familiar with. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/everybody-is-freaking-freelance-writers-scramble-make-sense-new-california-law-1248195 
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1,230 people are talking about this
I didn’t realize we had met. For background, we worked for months wa coalition of freelancers (including @rdotinga) to create what we thought was reasonable relief from Dynamex while protecting staff media jobs. It isn’t perfect but the coalition we worked with said it was “ok.”
39 people are talking about this
Hi, Lorena. Former freelance writer here. Your bill is horrible and will hurt the people you say you’re trying to protect.
38 people are talking about this
My bill was about codifying a court decision for all workers. We wrote exemptions for freelancers at the request of freelancers. I understand many don’t think it went far enough, but it was a balance between unions, staff journalists, & needs of freelancers. What do you suggest?
17 people are talking about this
I suggest letting freelancers write as many pieces as they want. My industry is hemorrhaging full-time jobs because people expect to read content for free on the Internet, not because of scabs. There are no jobs. This bill chokes off the only safety valve.
54 people are talking about this
Freelancers can write however much they want-but should we let , say the LA Times hire as many freelancers as they want to bust their union or weaken their great new contract or keep folks from organizing. Freelancing can hurt staff jobs.
108 people are talking about this
And bam:
But don’t worry. Now Gonzalez want to decide who is and who isn’t a journalist. What could go wrong with that?
The law is do to take effect January 1, 2020:

‘Yashar’s not a journalist’: California Dem gets into a fight with Yashar Ali over the state’s new awful freelancer bill ‘Yashar’s not a journalist’: California Dem gets into a fight with Yashar Ali over the state’s new awful freelancer bill Reviewed by Your Destination on October 21, 2019 Rating: 5

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