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Article

8 Aug 2022

Author:
Rebecca Klar, The Hill

USA: Gig worker coalition says proposed law is anti-worker & would misclassify workers

"Gig workers group slams bill it says would misclassify workers," 29 Jul 2022

... The Worker Power Coalition, which represents 24 million workers nationwide, called the Worker Flexibility and Choice Act an “anti-worker proposal intended to further endanger already vulnerable gig economy workers.”

... The proposal ... would allow independent workers to “voluntarily” enter into “flexibility agreements,” according to the bill’s text. 

... “Uber and Lyft poured $200 million into Prop 22 in California to take away our rights to unemployment benefits, workplace safety and sick time. All during a global pandemic,” said Nicole Moore, a part-time Lyft driver and the president of the group Rideshare Drivers United, ... . “Now they’re trying to do it federally,” Moore added.

... Uber and Lyft have not publicly commented on the proposal. The companies directed The Hill to the Coalition for Workforce Innovation, a group both Uber and Lyft are members of, for comment. 

... Evan Armstrong, chair of the Coalition for Workforce Innovation, said the proposal provides “clarity and rules of the road for independent workers and businesses.” “The bipartisan bill strikes a balance to promote independent work while ensuring more options for benefits, support and protections,” Armstrong said in a statement. 

... The Worker Power Coalition said lawmakers should instead focus on pushing forward the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would classify some gig workers as employees to give them the right to form unions.