Californians voted to approve Proposition 22, which allows Uber, Lyft and other app-based companies to classify their drivers as contractors rather than as employees who would get benefits and labor protections.

This will effectively exempt the ride-sharing companies from Californias AB5 , a law that went into effect earlier this year and requires gig economy companies to reclassify many independent contractors as employees. As employees, drivers would have had a right to benefits like a minimum wage, health insurance, overtime pay, sick leave and a right to form a union.

Since AB5s inception last year, both Uber and Lyft have fought tooth and nail against the law as converting drivers to employees with benefits would have come with a hefty price tag.

Uber, Lyft and other gig economy giants spent more than $185 million on the campaign to convince voters to pass Prop 22 making it the most expensive ballot initiative in the states history. And they succeeded.

Meanwhile, Uber and Lyft drivers have repeatedly protested , including striking nationwide last year, in hopes of getting better pay and benefits.

After I did my taxes, I was operating below minimum wage, 35-year-old Mostafa Maklad, who drove with Uber and Lyft and was an organizer with Gig Workers Rising , told HuffPost last year.

Demand for ride-sharing has dropped during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving drivers with less income. And at a time when drivers health is at risk, as they are exposed to the public while doing their jobs, drivers still have no health insurance or paid sick leave provided by the companies.