Posts tagged Independent Contractor
Construction groups decry PRO Act’s reintroduction
March 13, 2025 // “The reintroduction of the PRO Act displays continued disregard for the livelihoods of small business owners, employees and independent contractors,” said Swearingen. “While Congress has long rejected the PRO Act and its provisions, these legislators continue to pursue failed policies and attack business models and fundamental freedoms that have fueled entrepreneurship, job creation and opportunity for the American worker.”
Commentary: Freelance Busting: The Ratio Reality
March 11, 2025 // Democrats, led by Senate and House Minority Leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, just reintroduced the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act. Named for a former head of the AFL-CIO, this bill, H.R. 20, does the same thing that California Governor Gavin Newsom claimed AB5 would do. The PRO Act aims to reclassify independent contractors as employees as a way to empower union organizers. As Jeffries put it in Congress: “When our unions are strong, the United States of America is strong.” Republicans, led by Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, put forward the Modern Worker Empowerment Act. This bill, H.R. 1319, aims to stop California’s experiment from spreading. It would protect everyone’s freedom to be our own bosses. As Kiley put it: “California’s disastrous AB5 law wreaked havoc on independent workers, stripping them of their ability to work on their own terms and forcing businesses to cut off contractor relationships. Shifting federal regulations threaten to impose similar uncertainty nationwide, putting millions of workers at risk.”
Bills Introduced in Congress Work to Secure the Right to Work for Independent Professionals
February 27, 2025 // On February 13, California Congressman Kevin Kiley (R) introduced two bills in the House of Representatives that seek to codify and protect independent professionals and contractors. In this 119th Congress, Paul has partnered with two key right-to-work organizations to reintroduce “The National Right to Work Act”: The Institute for the American Worker, and the National Right to Work Foundation.
Opinion: Judge Slaps Back AFL-CIO Challenge to DOGE Access to Department of Labor Records
February 9, 2025 // So, a DOGE deep-dive into those records could show the hows and the whys behind big labor's assumption that it has total control of this agency, and to what degree the U.S. DOL colludes with them to sacrifice independent professionals, small businesses, and franchisers on the altar of labor interests.
New Study: From Gig to Gone? ABC Tests and the Case of the Missing Workers
January 10, 2025 // The introduction of an ABC test caused significant declines in traditional (W-2) employment, self-employment, and overall employment. The ABC test reduced traditional (W-2) employment by 4.73% Self-employment fell by 6.43% Overall employment fell by 4.79% Occupations with high shares of independent contractors experienced the largest reductions in employment. These results suggest that contrary to the intended goal, ABC tests are not altering the composition of workers and leading to more workers becoming traditional W-2 employees, but they are reducing employment for both W-2 employees and self-employed workers.
Commentary: Washington, We Have a Problem
December 27, 2024 // The problem is that the figure 11.9 million is significantly lower than figures the government has previously stated about the number of independent contractors in the United States. Those figures, in turn, have been significantly lower than figures we’ve all seen released year after year by numerous other researchers. Several experts were quick to point out that with this new data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics may have accurately counted what the government set out to count—by asking questions in its own wonky way—but the result is absolutely going to confuse a lot of people.
Op-ed: Biden’s Last Labor Stand: Honoring the First Female Secretary of Labor While Propping Up His Failed One
December 17, 2024 // Biden even attempted to appoint a radical progressive incompetent to the post of United States Secretary of Labor and as much as bragged about this in this speech. What Biden failed to note is that Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su was never confirmed by the Senate, because she is that incompetent. Yet, Su was there anyway, praised and introduced by the first female president of the AFL-CIO, Liz Shuler, who credited Su with turning "the Department of Labor into a true House of Labor." A house of labor that has tacitly excluded and targeted the more than 64 million independent professionals and small businesses; but, apples and oranges.
With trucking at a crossroads, ATA’s Spear reminds industry what’s at stake
October 21, 2024 // The leader of trucking’s largest trade group says the industry won’t ‘roll over’ to ‘union thuggery’ and unrealistic politicians’ attempts to tear down the industry that drives the U.S. economy.
Boeing Worker Side Hustles Could Drag Strike Out for Months
September 23, 2024 // But as workers stare down the embattled manufacturer for better pay and benefits, the 33,000 members of IAM District 751 have the full benefit of a tight labor market and gig economy that provides a quick transition into jobs that help make ends meet. That gives the union bargaining leverage, potentially frustrating Boeing’s effort to swiftly end a conflict that’s costing it an estimated $100 million each day. While the battle between one of the world’s largest exporters and its blue-collar workers may look like an uneven fight on its surface, Boeing finds itself in an increasingly untenable situation with its finances so dire that it can ill afford a drawn-out paralysis.
Interview: Independent Contractors and Union Reforms, How @VinnieVernuccio Champions Worker Choice
September 12, 2024 // Unions are stuck in this turn of the last century industrial revolution, a one-size-fits-all adversarial business model that most workers today don't want. I do see a place for unions if they embrace a voluntary business model and become like professional service organizations. Unfortunately, they're not there. If you're under a union contract, you're stuck with the wages, the benefits, the vacations, [and] the hours they negotiate for you. It's actually impossible for the employer to unilaterally say, “you're doing a great job, I'm going to give you a raise,” or “I'm going to give you a bonus,” or, “hey, you want more vacation for a little less money?”