Like many other self-employed workers who are "unemployable" in the traditional workplace, it's amazing to watch the issue being ignored by all of the supporters of state and federal legislation designed to end the growing trend of self-employed workers and require them to rejoin the workforce as employees eligible and required to join a union.
Gig work & side hustle have been around since the early 1900s in one form or another. Enterprising individuals have been turning these jobs into a living for almost a hundred years. Some even turn them into businesses that hire employees. Apple, Under Armour, Houzz, Etsy, Groupon, HubSpot, Slack, and many more started out as side hustles.
"Perfect is the Enemy of the Good Enough"
In an ideal world, we'd all be employed doing what we love and successfully earning a living. Reality is far more different.
For the last 7 years, I've been working one gig or another. Whether it was verifying receipts and processing rebate checks for Groupon, consulting with developers on the workflow for applications, help desk support, food delivery, rideshare, sex chat, or just mowing someone’s yard I have supported myself. Pretty good for someone that can't get a job at the local fast-food restaurant for medical reasons.
I'm not alone. Whether it is someone who is disabled, has a medical condition, over 50, retired workers needing extra income, mothers who want to be at home with their children, or someone wanting extra money working side hustles has become a way of life.
Unfortunately, those like Pelosi & Gonzalez are selling their constituents a bill of goods. In the guise of helping the American worker, they are telling everyone who works as an independent contractor they are entitled to be employees. They ignore the economic realities that these companies cannot support an unlimited number of employees. They sell Uber, Lyft, GH, DD, and other drivers the fantasy that they are entitled to be employees instead of telling them they have the choice to find employment or contracts elsewhere. They are so convincing that the desperate will vote for them to pass legislation that will guarantee them employee status with the same flexible hours, right to pick and choose their fares, the right to refuse deliveries with no tip, etc.
I have to wonder what will happen when the masses find out that these companies can only hire and sustain a small percentage of contractors as employees outside of seasonal hires? That they are now employees with schedules, no right to refuse fares/deliveries, quality of service standards, non-compete agreements, and everything else that goes along with being an employee of a company. Not to mention it paves the way to regulate or even ban Uber and Lyft when they essentially become taxi companies instead of "ride-share" apps.
The really sad thing is that the goal isn't helping gig workers become employees and gaining worker protections. It's about curtailing the entire freelance movement that has been taking place and is steadily growing. If someone isn't an "employee" they can't be forced to join a union. We’re just the bait. The real catch is programmers, writers, translators, and hundreds of other profitable professions that have been drawing more employees out of the workforce and into the realm of the untouchable self employed.
If you're not employable or don't want to be employed they don't give a shit about you.
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Source: https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1236381353811120128
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