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Welcome to The American Prospect's weekly roundup highlighting the best reporting and latest developments in the labor movement.
(Compiled by Justin Miller-Edited by Harold Meyerson)
The debate over just how big the on-demand/sharing/gig/contingent economy is and how to regulate it continues to heat up. Last week, the Department of Labor held a symposium on the future of work in which participants insisted both that the gigification of work was overhyped and that the regulatory framework still needs to be adapted to address new employment models. "The gig economy ... is not the future," DOL Wage and Hour administrator David Weil told Politico.
Some labor experts and on-demand business leaders have called for a new class of employment-one that blends the flexibility of new employment models with the safety nets of traditional employment law. As The New York Times reports, that coalition has coalesced through The Hamilton Project, which held an event one day before the DOL's calling for employment law reform. However, many in the labor movement dismiss the need for a new classification of employee, arguing that it's just a plot by on-demand companies to avoid the cost of having real employees.
As The Hill reports, the issue of the on-demanders is beginning to get traction on Capitol Hill and in distant cities. Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner, who has taken the lead on regulating the gig economy with a business-friendly perspective, is now saying he's willing to extend legal protections against lawsuits to companies in exchange for their offering some type of "transferable" worker benefits. Meanwhile, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously on Monday to allow Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize as independent contractors. Since independent contractors are not covered under the National Labor Relations Act, the council decided the city could claim jurisdiction, A court battle will almost certainly ensue.
The Mercatus Center released a new report last week analyzing IRS data to get a handle on the scope of "nontraditional" 1099 employment. The verdict? Yes, nontraditional jobs are growing, but don't blame big on-demand startups like Uber. As the report contends, 1099 employment has been a growing trend long before the preponderance of app-based employers.
A large chunk of the growing 1099 sector is still old-style freelancing, where wage theft runs rampant. As Lydia DePillis reports, the New York City Council introduced a bill that would require contracts for freelancers, payment within 30 days, and increased compensation for workers who've been stiffed. (DePillis also has a nice piece on the new company Indepayment, which acts as a debt collector for freelancers).
Tidbits
Black Lives Matter activists turn their attention to police union contracts, which they argue protects officers who repeatedly abuse power.
Tyson Foods is leading the push to decimate workers compensation requirements on the state level, leaving its own workers exposed.
Home improvement retailer Menard's apparently has a stipulation in its employment contracts that cuts manager pay by 60 percent if workers unionize under their management.
The White House says it strongly opposes a proposed budget rider that would repeal Obamacare's Cadillac Tax (which would adversely affect many union workers' health insurance) but didn't specify if it would veto a bill that would do so. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has proposed delaying the implementation of the tax for two years.
At The Prospect…
Steven Greenhouse follows up his deep dive on Uber drivers' attempts to organize with a critical look at the new paper from the Hamilton Project on transferable benefits for on-demand workers. Read more…
