"Uber And Lyft" Means All Of Us
At the Republican National Convention, Teamster Sean O'Brien ran a well-worn play from the freelance-busting book. Don't let this fake-out fool you.
It always starts with Uber and Lyft.
That’s never where it ends.
This drumbeat of messaging about how we need to rein in tech companies got quite loud in 2019, when the freelance-busting crowd told everyone who would listen that California’s Assembly Bill 5 was all about helping Uber and Lyft drivers:
Then, the freelance-busting crowd said New Jersey and other states should follow California’s lead and pass legislation to help Uber and Lyft drivers:
Then, the freelance-busting crowd said the U.S. Congress needed to go even further and pass the PRO Act because it would protect Uber and Lyft drivers—and Amazon workers, too:
All of which leads us to this past Monday night, when Sean O’Brien, the head of the Teamsters—one of the loudest freelance-busting voices in the nation—told the Republican National Convention that the entire GOP needs to get on the side of protecting Uber, Lyft and Amazon workers:
“Massive companies like Amazon, Uber, Lyft and Walmart take zero responsibilities for the workers they employ.”
No, he never uttered the term “independent contractor” in his speech. The freelance-busting crowd has learned that they gain much more traction if they do not mention that, for starters, their policies threaten the livelihoods of millions of women and people of color.
Instead, Mr. O’Brien and his freelance-busting friends want us all to think they’re only after tech giants like Uber, Lyft and Amazon—as they continue to wage their war against everyone’s right to hang out a shingle and go into business for ourselves.
The Art of Misdirection
The freelance busters have become highly skilled at misdirecting attention from their real goal.
Take a look at one of the most recent examples: The Gig Is Up Act that U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman, D-N.J., introduced in April.
Here’s the press release that the congresswoman’s office issued. The name of the bill, and the quotes that are lined up for the press, specifically focus on “gig” work and feature a union leader calling out Uber and Lyft by name:
Now, take a look at the actual legislation. It’s only three pages. Easy to read.
Do you see any of these words in the bill?
Uber
Lyft
rideshare
driver
Nope. Me neither. The legislation is not specific to those companies.
The same thing is true if you read through all 56 pages of the federal PRO Act. Those same magic words are in the marketing …
… but nothing in the actual bill is specific to the tech companies.
This is the unionists’ well-worn schtick.
The messaging is about reining in tech companies specifically, but then the legislation they strong-arm lawmakers to enact applies to us all.
Consistent, Widespread Opposition
In the one place the freelance-busting brigade actually managed to get significant legislation through—California—the messaging could not have been clearer that Assembly Bill 5 was going to protect Uber and Lyft drivers:
That was five years ago. Here’s where things stand today:
Uber and Lyft drivers are still independent contractors.
California’s unions have lost ground compared to when they started.
The state’s Legislature had to follow up with an emergency measure, ultimately exempting more than 100 professions from Assembly Bill 5 because legitimate independent contractors got so badly walloped.
Here’s how one law firm explained what happened:
“There also was a rather significant backlash against AB 5 — by independent contractors themselves. That’s because the law swept broadly to include a number of freelancers and independent contractors that apparently did not want to be ‘helped’ by the Legislature. As initially written, musicians in a band, freelance photographers and writers, and a number of other traditionally independent contractors would almost certainly fail … The Legislature and its lobbyists set about amending AB 5 to address some of these concerns, and came up with AB 2257...”
After that debacle in California, independent contractors nationwide realized what the freelance-busting crowd was trying to do to us all. Grassroots groups such as Freelancers Against AB5 (which I joined) and Fight For Freelancers (which I helped to create) swelled with members from all walks of life.
Truckers joined with translators. Wedding planners joined with real-estate appraisers. Comedians joined with book editors. Cartographers joined with traveling nurses.
Everyone who earns a living as an independent contractor learned that we are all the target—that the unionists are threatening our right to choose self-employment, in every single profession.
That’s why New Jersey’s freelance-busting bill died: public outcry from all kinds of independent contractors who raised our voices together.
That’s why the federal PRO Act couldn’t get through. Moderate Democrats like Mark Warner of Virginia and Mark Kelly of Arizona joined with Republicans to protect legitimate independent contractors nationwide.
That’s why, when my fellow freelancers and I decided to support a lawsuit in defense of self-employment, it took us mere weeks—on our first-ever try—to amass co-signers representing more than 275,000 independent contractors.
In their fantasies, the freelance-busting crowd thought they were pushing policymaking that would help them organize more union members.
In reality, the only thing they organized was widespread opposition to freelance busting across all ages, genders, party affiliations and professions.
These Are His Next Words
All of us who watched Mr. O’Brien at the Republican National Convention this week knew exactly what he meant when he said “Amazon,” “Uber” and “Lyft.” He was saying that he plans to continue threatening the livelihoods of self-employed Americans across the board.
Let’s be clear about what comes after the one-liner about Uber and Lyft. In 2022, Boston Live pressed Mr. O’Brien to elaborate on his talking point:
I’m sure that Mr. O’Brien can read election polls as well as the rest of us. He sees that Republicans are likely to gain power this fall—and he wants the GOP to wield that power the same way he and his freelance-busting buddies have gotten most of the Democrats to wield their power against independent contractors in recent years.
As the Editorial Board for The Wall Street Journal wrote yesterday:
“Nearly all Republicans opposed the PRO Act in 2021 to shield their constituents from union coercion. Mr. O’Brien wants to coax them to drop their opposition in a second Trump term.”
Mr. O’Brien doesn’t care that most Americans do not want to join a union.
He doesn’t care that most independent contractors wish to remain self-employed.
The Republican Party should care about us all.
I hope that the GOP, despite having given Mr. O’Brien this platform, will continue to defend legitimate independent contractors like me against freelance busters like him.
Frankly, protecting every American’s right to choose self-employment should not be a partisan issue. It should be a given for every lawmaker in a nation that values liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Mr. O’Brien is one among just 1.3 million Teamsters. I am one among tens of millions of Americans who earn some or all of our income as independent contractors.
Our livelihoods and wishes also matter.
And we, too, will be voting this fall.