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The global labor force of outsourced and contract workers are early adopters of generative AI — and the most at risk.

The Amazon organizing drive has drawn attention to just how much the deck is stacked against workers and unions. The Pro Act would provide a much-needed update to labor law after decades of rising inequality and an erosion of collective bargaining.

Some freelancers have come out against the PRO Act, insisting that the pro-labor bill threatens their livelihoods. But they needn’t worry: the bill would transform labor relations for the better, it wouldn’t “kill” freelancing.

The Industrial Workers of the World Freelance Journalists Union is one year old. A member-organizer describes the campaign.

These Americans face growing competition from abroad.

Study after study after study demonstrate that independent, remote workers are more productive, satisfied, and engaged than their office-bound colleagues. Recent surveys find that workers, freed from the constraints of office life, report higher levels of satisfaction and greater productivity. These results aren’t surprising since remote work eliminates the wasted time of commuting and the stress of constant exposure to office politics, interruptions and meetings.

A bill being introduced in the City Council Monday would require all employers to put contracts in writing, impose civil and criminal penalties for taking longer than 30 days to deliver payments, and award double damages plus attorneys fees to contractors who’ve been stiffed — similar to the protections now enjoyed by regular employees.

"Workers increasingly serve businesses that do not officially 'employ' the worker — a distinction that hampers organizing, erodes labor standards and dilutes accountability," said Catherine Ruckelshaus, general counsel for the National Employment Law Project, which advocates on behalf of low-wage workers. A recent Federal Reserve study showed that nearly 7.5 million people who are working part time — contract workers included — would rather have full-time jobs.

Reader Responses to Grocery Unions and Obamacare; Freelancers; Better Unions