Posts tagged flexibility
Opinion: It’s time to put American workers ahead of big labor
September 3, 2025 // in 2024 alone, the Department of Labor documented 177 enforcement actions against unions for fraud, embezzlement, wire fraud, and falsified records. Congressional investigations have targeted a dozen unions for similar abuses, highlighting a pattern of self-dealing that diverts funds from pensions, training programs, and strike support. When union officials embezzle or racketeer, it’s the everyday worker who pays the price through diminished benefits and tarnished reputations. Perhaps most troubling is the growing chasm between union leaders’ policy stances and the actual views of their members. Union bosses, often ensconced in Washington or state capitals, pour millions into liberal causes and Democratic campaigns, even as their grassroots base leans increasingly conservative or independent. In the 2024 election, while top labor officials doubled down on Democratic endorsements and criticized Republican outreach, many union households shifted toward Donald Trump.
Empowering Flexible Work in Alabama: Shipt to Launch First Portable Benefits Program In Our Home State
August 20, 2025 // Now, eligible Alabama shoppers earning with Shipt can qualify to receive contributions from Shipt equivalent to 4% of their pre-tip earnings. They can then use these tax-deductible contributions to purchase benefits that matter most to them, without jeopardizing their ability to earn on their own terms.3 “We hear it from shoppers and drivers all the time: nothing beats a flexible work schedule,” said Mindy Reher, vice president of experiential operations at Shipt. “As a people-centric company, we take pride in finding innovative solutions to offer workers on our platform greater access, choice, and security in how they work. Alabama shoppers can now further build toward their financial goals without compromising on the flexibility they get from earning on the Shipt platform.”
Legislation helping independent workers access portable benefits introduced
July 10, 2025 // Currently, while 80 percent of independent workers would like access to workplace benefits, decades old federal labor and employment law prevent them from doing so. The legislative package is supported by independent worker organizations like Flex Association, the Institute for the American Worker and the National Retail Federation, to name a few. “The Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act is an important step toward addressing some of the federal legal hurdles that complicate efforts to connect independent contractors with portable benefits while ensuring that the millions of Americans who choose to earn on their own terms can continue doing so without risking the independence and flexibility they value. Flex looks forward to working with Senator Cassidy and other forward-thinking policymakers as there is additional work to be done on this issue at the state and federal levels,” Kristin Sharp, CEO of Flex Association.
Chair Cassidy, Scott, Paul Release Legislative Package Empowering Independent Workers to Access Portable Benefits
July 7, 2025 // “We applaud Sen. Cassidy for striving to ensure independent contractors can be protected and receive benefits similar to employees without jeopardizing their entrepreneurship or independence. The Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act supports independent contractors and freelancers by allowing businesses to provide benefits without redefining worker status. In today’s evolving economy, flexible work shouldn’t come at the cost of healthcare or retirement security. This legislation helps ensure that all American workers – regardless of classification – can have access to benefits like health care and retirement plans,” said F. Vincent Vernuccio, J.D., President, Institute for the American Worker.
One Big Beautiful Law on American Radio Journal
July 7, 2025 // This week on American Radio Journal: Lowman Henry talks with Vincent Vernuccio from the Institute for the American Worker about the proposed Employee Rights Act of 2025;
Op-ed–Kim Kavin: ‘Please Don’t Destroy My Career’
July 2, 2025 // The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors did a survey of its members during our shared battle in Congress over a federal freelance-busting bill, and found an unbelievably high desire to remain independent contractors. That survey found: Approximately 90% of NAIFA members receive income reported on an IRS form 1099 94% do not want to be treated as an employee for union organizing 95% operating as independent contractors wish to remain so
Editorial: Unionizing Uber and Lyft drivers may speed up their robotic replacement
July 2, 2025 // Here’s the issue for drivers. Labor talks are playing out as Uber and its competitors are investing heavily in driverless vehicles, just like Tesla. Uber isn’t hiding that future. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi even told The Wall Street Journal this year he expects AVs to gradually overtake human drivers.
Wisconsin gig workers could become independent contractors under bill headed to governor’s desk
June 19, 2025 // Drivers for transit apps like Uber or DoorDash would be given more flexibility, but they'd also be exempt from worker's compensation or minimum wage requirements
Op-ed: America must lead on the gig economy — or others will set the rules
June 10, 2025 // Look at California’s catastrophic Assembly Bill 5, which tried to reclassify most independent contractors as employees. Instead of improving livelihoods, it triggered chaos. Freelancers across media, transportation, tech, and the arts lost contracts overnight. Self-employment rates cratered. Only after a voter revolt and economic fallout did lawmakers scramble to undo the damage, carving out one exemption after another — a slow-motion admission that they had gone too far. Now, the ILO wants to make AB 5 the global gold standard for the gig economy.
Goldwater Backs Proposal to Rein in Federal Bureaucracy
June 1, 2025 // Goldwater Institute submitted a formal public comment to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in support of a Trump Administration proposal to reclassify thousands of federal employees with policy-influencing roles to at-will employment status. The Institute’s comment makes clear that this is an encouraging step forward to ensure accountability in government, and when necessary, rein in abuses in the federal bureaucracy. States like Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Texas, Utah, and Florida have classified state workers as at-will employees for years. As the Institute noted in its letter, “oversight and accountability are central features of efficient management practices for government employees,” both at the state and federal levels.