CHICAGO, IL – FEBRUARY 26: Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) hold a rally … [+]
Gig work is growing, but just because workers are leaving full-time jobs doesn’t mean they no longer need workplace protections. As freelancers become a larger proportion of the workforce, many new questions arise about how to meet their needs. Could unions be the answer to helping gig workers in our new economy?
Benefits of Unions
The good news is that employers aren’t the only ones who can look after their employees—unions can as well (which is good, since employers don’t really do that, to be honest). Fortunately, we’re seeing an increased interest in unions, with total membership increasing 200,000 in 2022. And unions are heavily in the news right now, with the Writers Guild of America, Starbucks, and Amazon (among many others) gaining media attention for their fight for fair compensation.
Unions offer members the right to collectively bargain, file grievances, gain just cause for wrongful discipline, and secure improved wages. However, there are limitations—unions don’t function exactly the same as employers. “Unions rarely provide benefits directly to members,” says David Hill, Vice President of the National Writers Union. “Some unions administer Taft-Hartley plans together with employers, but most of the time, unions negotiate with employers over how much of a contribution employers will make to a health plan.” All of that is to say—even if gig workers unionize, they may still need a company to offer health insurance. However, unions have provided effective; union workers are more likely than non-union workers to have healthcare from their company, and 71% of Americans approve of unions.
The Status of Gig Work
But why should we expect gig workers to have a particular interest in unions right now? Unfortunately, even though gig work is popular, it’s gotten harder in many ways. “Conditions for gig workers are getting worse in many industries, and the perils of being a full-time independent contractor for a single employer are becoming clearer to people who initially were lured in by promises of flexibility and potential for growth,” says Hill. Tech startups like Uber, Lyft, or Amazon that rely on legions of gig workers to function are known for their unfair employment practices—and the problem isn’t getting resolved.
Furthermore, the misclassification of gig workers means they’re denied rights they should get from their employers. Essentially, misclassification happens when an employee who works full-time for one company gets counted as an independent contractor for the sake of denying them benefits. “There are some basic labor rights that these employers should be ensuring their employees,” says Eric Dryburgh, volunteer app-based organizer, when asked about the problem of gig worker misclassification. “The main one is reclassifying all workers as employees, which provides them their state and federal rights (FSLA, Workers’ Compensation, FMLA, paid sick days, paid meal breaks, etc).” Misclassification has increased in recent years, which means many gig workers aren’t getting their fare share of benefits.
Recent Progress
Because of the benefits of unions and the challenges gig workers face right now, unionization is more appealing than ever—and recent victories offer hope. “There have been some impressive victories in the past 5 years,” says Dryburgh. “Drivers in California went on strike to help pass AB5. Workers in California, Connecticut, and NYC have fought against laws that would exclude them from basic labor protections, and workers in Minnesota helped pass a groundbreaking law that would provide drivers increased wages for both driving and inactive time (unfortunately it was vetoed by the governor).”
Concerns
As Dryburgh’s examples demonstrate, there’s momentum on the side of unionization, but still much work to be done. Unionizing isn’t entirely up to gig workers, or even the unions. “The majority of American workers have said they support unions for a long time now,” says Hill. “But no matter how much workers in this country want to belong to unions, the process for forming one has been made nearly impossible by companies and the government, while the process for decertifying unions is easier than ever.”
Because of bureaucratic and legal challenges, unions might not yet have the resources to help gig workers specifically. “I’m pessimistic that many unions are ready right now to help gig workers, either because they don’t know how to overcome the obstacles to organizing, or they are unwilling to commit the kind of resources and effort it will take to actually win against these large tech companies that employ them,” says Hill. “I think it will take a union who is willing to put up many millions of dollars, hire an army of organizers, and put together a ten-year plan to win, not to mention all the legal and strategic corporate campaigning that will need to go on in concert with organizing the rank and file.”
Additionally, some unions—because of a lack of resources—aren’t able to take the most direct approach to helping gig workers. “Unfortunately, right now there are some unions that have taken a ‘strategic’ approach of trying to work with the companies and become their labor partners,” says Dryburgh. “In May 2021, they tried getting a law passed in NYC that would provide Independent Drivers Guild and Transport Workers Unions fees for representing workers that would come from fares and delivery fees. The problem with these laws is that while they provide immediate benefits to workers, they create these carveouts that prevent app-based workers from being classified as employees. These kinds of deals can have irreparable consequences for the rest of the labor movement. If the new standard of whether you are an employee depends if you get your job through an app, all W2 employees are in trouble.”
There are many challenges—both organizational and legal—that gig workers face in trying to unionize. However, we live at a time when many are demand more workplace rights. People are leaving full-time jobs in droves for the freedom of independent contracting, and unions are dominating the news right now. As such, the trend of gig workers joining unions is one to watch.
