As reported in The Wall Street Journal: “Tech freelancers see a lucrative seller’s market for their skills, said Thomas Vick, a regional director at the technology divisions of staffing firm Robert Half International Inc. “They can actually make more money working on projects as a contractor than what they would as a full-time employee.” … Read more …
Press and Releases
Why journalists are leaving their full-time media jobs to go freelance
As reported by Poynter: “I earned more in six months on my own than in the entirety of last year at a full-time job. And I’m on track to more than double my total income this year.” … Read more …
Self-employed people are four times wealthier than workers, on average
As reported by Business Insider: According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, self-employed Americans have a far larger median net worth than their regular working peers, and self-employment is one way to achieve economic mobility, especially as wages decline for workers. … Read more …
U.S. Senate HELP Committee Hearing on PRO Act Disappoints
“Yesterday’s hearing by the Senate HELP Committee focused almost entirely on making it easier for current employees to unionize, while failing to recognize how parts of the PRO Act would harm the country’s 59 million independent contractors…” Read more…
Creators of Fight For Freelancers USA Honored with Exceptional Service Award
“The American Society of Journalists and Authors presented its Exceptional Service Award—a special honor given only periodically—to Debbie Abrams Kaplan, Kim Kavin, Jen Singer and Karon Warren, co-leaders of the the nonpartisan, grassroots, self-funded, ad hoc coalition Fight For Freelancers USA.” … Read more …
Alaskans don’t want California’s failed policies
As published in the Anchorage Daily News: “When Alaskans learned more about how the PRO Act would drastically alter current federal labor laws and significantly affect who was able to be an independent contractor in Alaska, more than 60% of Alaskans opposed the bill. This was true even among current union members who opposed the PRO Act by 57% after learning about its provisions. What’s more, 85% of Alaskans agreed that it was important they be able to choose to work as independent contractors. More than 80% believe federal laws should continue to protect the rights of Alaskans to work as independent contractors.” … Read more…
Lawmakers risk repeating a disaster with the PRO Act
As published in the Florida Times-Union: “Will history repeat itself, or will Congress learn from the mistakes of California’s experiment and avoid pushing the same bad policies on the tens of millions of Americans who earn a living from independent contracting? Americans must be allowed to work the way they want. We should expand worker freedom, not shrink it. PRO Act advocates don’t see it that way.” … Read more…
Protecting Right to Organize Act Hurts Local Businesses, Workers
As published in The Roanoke Times: “Importing a concerning California policy to determine whether a worker counts as an employee or independent contractor, the PRO Act would make it significantly harder for those in Virginia currently operating as independent contractors to maintain that status. That means many people could lose the freedom and flexibility that comes with independent or gig economy work, including the ability to set their own hours, choose what work they do, and determine how they would like to perform that work.” … Read more…
Four ‘gig work’ misconceptions driving counterproductive reforms
As published in The Hill: “It’s a mistake to assume – as many policymakers appear to be doing – that the gig economy represents most independent workers and to ignore the diversity of roles, industries and challenges across this growing workforce. Contrary to click-bait headlines, workers on typical “gig” or “on-demand” platforms as a main job comprise only a tiny fraction of the overall independent workforce. It includes a diversity of roles including freelance creatives (musicians, writers) and professionals (translators, software developers); high-skilled consultants; contractors such as electricians and carpenters; and over 120 other types of solo, self-employed roles.” … Read more…
Don’t California my Arizona livelihood
As published in the Arizona Capitol Times: “If the PRO Act passes, the rest of the country would be forced into something even Californians have recognized was a bad idea. The PRO Act is a solution in search of a problem. Independent workers and freelancers are not asking to be full-time employees. When they were reclassified as such in California, they overwhelmingly voted to opt out and create a third way that preserved their independence and flexibility. Let’s heed their example and don’t ‘California’ the rest of the nation.” … Read more…
