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March 18, 2021 05:23 pm

Lawmakers Look to Spruce Up Gig Work Rather Than Replace It

An anonymous reader shares a report: Last week in Washington, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House passed a sweeping labor law overhaul that would make it much easier for gig workers to prove they're actually employees with full-fledged union rights, rather than contractors as their bosses claim. Two days later in Democratic-ruled Connecticut, state lawmakers met by video conference to consider a less adversarial approach: Creating a special industrywide version of bargaining for gig workers, without making them employees. "It is clear that these platform apps are here to stay," state Senator Julie Kushner, a former United Auto Workers regional director who now co-chairs the Connecticut legislature's Labor and Public Employees Committee, said in an interview. "What's really important is that we look at, how do we adjust so that we are getting the benefit of the platform, and the approach to work, but also making sure that we are not ignoring workers' rights in the equation?" The legislative proposal in Connecticut, spearheaded by a worker guild funded by Uber and Lyft, is a stab at the sort of compromise that some gig executives and union leaders have been seeking: boosting gig workers' rights, without granting them the full suite of protections that employees get under U.S. law. It reflects the eagerness of some lawmakers to find common ground between tech and labor and avoid the sort of pitched battle that's been raging in California and reverberating in boardrooms, union halls and government offices around the world. This week, Uber announced that it would reclassify its 70,000 U.K. drivers as "workers" eligible for minimum wage and paid vacation, among other benefits, after losing a national Supreme Court case. Harmony hasn't materialized so far in Connecticut: The companies don't support the current proposal. In testimony submitted last week, Uber said the bill as written "raises many concerns and creates a new, incredibly complicated process without the necessary due diligence and input from all stakeholders." Lyft, the second-largest ride-hailing company in the U.S, said the bill could harm "the flexibility and control that drivers currently enjoy."

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