Proposition 22 was the brainchild of on-demand rideshare and food delivery companies after Uber and Lyft were sued in California for wrongly classifying their drivers. It has remained to many attached to the gig economy as the only workable solution.

After California voted in favor of Proposition 22, Uber and Lyft managed to amass $13 billion on their combined stock market value.

When you compare this to what the two rideshare giants and Postmates, Instacart, and DoorDash spend to promote Prop 22, it’s a significant return. The ballot measure campaign witnessed an investment of $202 million. It is to date the most expensive campaign in the state of California. The opposition campaign was led by labor unions, who had managed to raise and invest $19 million for their cause.

A compromise of sorts birthed proposition 22. It was meant to offer additional benefits to gig workers driving for Uber and Lyft while ensuring that their status remained independent contractors.

Rideshare drivers cannot be classified as contractors because they do not have that much control over their assigned rides.

If Proposition 22 had failed, the companies would have had to deal with a dismantled business model where their drivers would be 9 to 5 employees. Uber had already warned that this classification would not be something that could sustain the business. If it did come to that, they would have to shrink operation to only four areas and let go of 80 percent of their employees.

According to sociologist Juliet Schor, Uber can afford employees where they receive paid leave, health insurance, and other worker protections. The only thing they have to do is raise what they charge their customers. But Uber would not do that as it operates in a competitive market from a price point.