Gig Economy Workers Deserve Equal Rights!

New York State

Workers in the on-demand, or "gig," economy are denied basic rights that all other employees receive, simply because their work originates from a phone "app." Their employers exploit this "app" loophole to classify their workers as independent contractors. This means they don't receive minimum wage, paid family leave, workers compensation, unemployment insurance, or have the right to join a union and a host of other benefits the rest of us take for granted.

Two workers performing the same tasks, one who gets his or her assignment through an "app" and the other who works for a traditional employer, should not be treated differently under the law. It's time that New York addresses this inequity, and provide all workers with the same protections.

“We have a class of workers in New York state who are being denied basic rights that most other workers have," said Mario Cilento, president of the New York State AFL-CIO. "This is a turning point in our changing economy that reeks of early 20th century working conditions of low wages and discrimination.

Click here to listen to our podcast on the issue.

To: New York State
From: [Your Name]

We the undersigned demand that New York State take the lead in protecting on-demand workers by treating them with the dignity and respect they deserve. It should not matter whether a worker gets their job from a traditional employer or an app based employer. Those workers should have access to all the same rights and benefits as any other employee in the state of New York.

We want our elected leaders to work with the labor movement to provide on-demand, app-based workers with the same rights other workers enjoy.