The GigReporter

Expect New Legislation Agenda from Labor Committee to Attack Small Businesses

Harry Bronson is the newly appointed Chair of the NYS Assembly Labor Committee. Assemblyman Bronson has had a long career as a labor union attorney, protecting union interests, and being financially rewarded by unions, and assuredly elected with the help of their political coffers. Assemblyman Bronson has also always campaigned as a zealous advocate for worker protections. However, we can only hope Assemblyman Bronson is just as knowledgeable about the majority of workers (79.6%) in New York State who are not in a labor union, or altogether prefer to work independently in the modern economy[1]. The breakdown for the majority (79.6%) of workers (non-union) is roughly 40.6% employees and 39% independent workers[2].

To be successful and to positively impact the majority of workers in New York State, Mr. Bronson and the Labor Committee must flip the switch and focus on solutions for all workers, not just for employees and union members. Government assistance providing worker protections have traditionally only helped employees, not independent workers. Mr. Bronson and the Labor Committee should be focused on helping the future workforce, which is increasingly non-union and independent. Assemblyman Bronson and the Labor Committee should evolve and look to work with the private sector, the historic source for independent worker protections for over a century, instead of trying to force independent workers into undesired employment jobs. Independent workers are growing immensely in size in the modern economy driven by desired flexibility. In fact “in 2023, the number of independent workers in the United States increased significantly; there were about 36.6 million occasional independent workers in the United States, an increase from 15.8 million in 2020.”[3] Flexible work options are highly desired in the modern economy and politicians cannot afford to ignore the trend, ineffectively legislating against independent workers’ choices. Subcontracting Concepts, LLC (“SCI”) has partnered with vendors providing independent workers with solutions and protections for over a quarter century.

[1] Union Membership Dropping in NY Too, Empire Center, by Ken Girardin, January 24, 2024.

[2] New York Floats a Crackdown on Independent Workers, Like California’s ruinous A.B.5, the proposal would greatly harm freelance employment, Reason Free Minds and Free Markets, by David McGarry, February 17, 2023.

[3] Statista, April 19, 2024, Number of people working independently in the United States from 2017 to 2023, by frequency.