Posts tagged flexibility
Empowering Idaho’s self-employed workforce with portable benefits
November 15, 2025 // What’s notable is that these workers aren’t asking for government mandates or subsidies. They’re asking for the freedom to participate in modern systems of security without sacrificing the independence they’ve chosen. Portable benefits meet that need — offering stronger financial security without compromising the initiative and determination that define Idaho’s workforce. By removing outdated barriers to voluntary portable benefits, Idaho can prove that independence and security not only coexist — they make each other stronger.
Commentary: Massachusetts Voters Support Unions for Uber Drivers
October 31, 2025 // The numbers needed to unionize the rideshare drivers are shockingly low. According to Axios, just 5% of all drivers need to sign on, and then 25% of so-called “active drivers” must support forming a bargaining unit, i.e., a group of employees who negotiate with management. After that threshold is met, the state recognizes a union that will represent all drivers—whether they supported it or not. In other words, if you’re an independent rideshare driver in Massachusetts, you don’t get a choice. The union chooses for you. Moreover, if 5% of workers want to form a union, every rideshare company must provide every driver’s contact information to union officials. Nationwide, the threshold for forming a bargaining unit is a majority vote. Massachusetts is now proposing to impose compulsory unionization with far less support—and with sectoral bargaining that extends far beyond one workplace and into the cars of rideshare drivers across the Bay State.
Testimony: Rachel Greszler: Labor Law Reform Part 1: Diagnosing the Issues, Exploring Current Proposals
October 10, 2025 // SummaryToday’s challenges—from the rise of artificial intelligence to the expansion of independent work and the growing demand for flexibility, autonomy, and new skills—necessitate modernized labor laws that are pro-worker and pro-employer, regardless of the type of workplace. Heavy-handed government interventions and attempts to bring back the 1950s’ ways of work are not the answers. American labor laws should preserve the freedom, dignity, and opportunity that make American work exceptional.
COMMENTARY: If Mamdani Wins, the Gig (Work) Is Up
October 3, 2025 // California shows the answer. In 2019, California passed a law attacking independent work. The state’s many photographers, freelance writers, translators, and designers quickly discovered that their once-lucrative work had dried up. Company after company cut jobs. The Mercatus Center found that one out of 10 self-employed jobs disappeared in short order. Even worse job losses were surely on the horizon. Recognizing the danger, California voters almost immediately passed a ballot measure that gave app-based workers and app-based companies the freedom to once again enter into freelance arrangements. The legislature then passed another law to carve out a dozen more professions. But those carve-outs didn’t apply to many other freelancers, like independent truckers, whose ability to work in California remains much more difficult. To this day, because politicians strangled freelance work, Californians have fewer of the jobs they want and need.
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