Will Uber and Lyft Survive a Biden Presidency?

The gig economy is currently under attack in California, and part of former Vice President Joe Biden's platform involves widening the battleground to the other 49 states. Uber (NYSE: UBER) and Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) have a lot to ponder between now and Nov. 3 -- as do its shareholders.

The two leading ride-hailing services aren't taking the fight in California lightly. They're backing Proposition 22, a ballot measure that would exempt ride-hailing and food delivery businesses from the state's Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), which requires companies with independent contractors to be treated as employees with all of the associated benefits. Uber and Lyft naturally want Proposition 22 to succeed when it comes up for a vote in two weeks. Together they've bankrolled more than half of the donations pushing for the ballot measure. Other food delivery services like DoorDash and supermarket sweeper Instacart have also stepped up as major donors.

The battle in California is important for Uber and Lyft in the immediate term. They're more fearful of the known -- what will happen to their operations in California under AB5 -- than the unknown of a Biden presidency. Let's take a closer look at what Biden's platform has to say about the treatment of independent contractors and what it could mean for Uber and Lyft.

Source Fool.com