There are few things as quintessentially American as what is now called "the gig economy." Back in the day, we called it "doing odd jobs," or even "being self-employed." Many Americans work most of their lives in the gig economy, in every line of work from corporate consultants (which I did for 20 years) to tradesmen.
One of the newer developments in this is the rise of the rideshare and food delivery gigs, with apps like Uber and Lyft taking over from what was once done by taxis and the restaurant's delivery services themselves. It worked out great for consumers. We got where we needed to go cheaper, and honestly, Uber and Lyft cars are, in my experience, cleaner and more well-maintained than taxis. If you decide you want Indian food and are tired and don't want to leave the hotel, Uber Eats or Grubhub has you covered.
Unless, that is, you're in New York, where the city is cracking down on precisely these kinds of gig workers.
The New York City Council recently voted to have the city’s minimum wage rate for app-based restaurant delivery drivers cover grocery drivers as well. Now it appears determined to go even further.
The council is considering whether to scrap the at-will employment arrangement—which allows either workers or employers to terminate the relationship at any time and for any reason—under which the city’s gig economy has operated since its inception. Doing so threatens the future of gig work in New York and will result in higher food delivery prices for New Yorkers.
Now, we should note one important thing that the New York City Council clearly doesn't understand: The people working with these companies have entered into these arrangements voluntarily. Nobody coerced them. It's a free exchange of value; the businesses that make food they need delivered are willing to pay for the drivers to deliver it, and the drivers find the pay they receive to be worth the time they spend - or they wouldn't be doing it.
But it gets worse; the bill proposes to make it difficult, if not impossible, to do away with drivers and presumably other gig workers who aren't (forgive me) cutting the mustard.
The proposed bill purports to protect gig-based delivery drivers by requiring app operators to establish “just cause” before deactivating a driver’s account on their network. Platforms would need to provide 14 days’ notice of any such action. The bill also sets up an arbitration process through which drivers can contest their deactivation.
What constitutes “just cause?” The bill would require the platforms to prove that there are “bona fide economic reasons” for deactivation. This can only be done by offering up business records showing “a proportionate reduction in volume of sales or profit within the fiscal quarter prior to the deactivation.” There’s no clear indication as to what constitutes a “proportionate reduction,” but the bill necessarily takes that determination out of the hands of the companies and puts it into the hands of bureaucrats and arbitrators.
All of this - the excessive control, the interference, the government back-seat driving business decisions, all will make life less convenient and more expensive for New Yorkers, in a city where life is already expensive as it is.
That's precisely what the left wants: More government control of decisions that should rightly be made by businesses and the people they employ/contract with. And if Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor of New York? Watch for all of this, on steroids.
There has been a national campaign in Democrat-controlled jurisdictions to eliminate these at-will arrangements. They seek to bring contractors under minimum-wage laws - and that's a stupid and wasteful topic for another day. They seek to force the gig companies to hire them as employees, instead of retaining them as contractors.
In California, fortunately, the gig workers were handed a reprieve by the state Supreme Court.
Read More: CA Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Lyft, Uber Drivers Remaining Contractors
At that time, I wrote:
On Thursday, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 22, a California ballot measure that classified Uber and Lyft drivers as independent contractors, not employees.
The court ruled in favor of upholding a years-old ballot measure, Proposition 22, ending the legal dispute that could have reshaped California’s gig economy if it was overturned, The New York Times noted in its reporting.
The measure was first passed in 2020, and ride-hailing companies were eager to take the win nationwide. Less than a year later, a Superior Court Judge deemed the measure unconstitutional because it violated the state legislature’s ability to amend the proposition and was not limited to a single subject. Three appeals court judges then upheld the measure.
Now, the state’s highest court has said that Uber and Lyft drivers can continue to be classified as independent contractors. The justices affirmed the appeals court’s decision that it does not conflict with the California Constitution.
But the battle will go on. The urban left will never give up seeking control. And that's a big part of what's wrong with our major cities today; the left seeks to control the regular folks, people trying to earn a living, while ignoring the harder problems: Crime, homelessness, and drug dealing.
What you tax and regulate, you get less of. At the very least, you make it more expensive and less practical. California did this and more some years ago, as we covered in the past:
Read More: Biden's Economic Destruction Continues, as the US Dept. of Labor Screws Over Independent Contractors
Congressional Dems Blatantly Push Repeal of "Right to Work" Laws as Unions Decline
It's important to remember one thing: These arrangements between the gig app company and gig workers are voluntary. They are agreed to by both parties. All the terms are known. The payment schedule and arrangements are known. They are entered freely. Both parties realized a perceived gain in value. That's how a free economy is supposed to work. That's how a free country is supposed to work. But, in New York, and in other cities around the fruited plain, municipal and even state governments are cracking down on these small-scale entrepreneurs while the cities they purport to serve are falling apart.
If this continues, it won't be the city officials who feel the effects. It will be the gig workers and the customers they served. Isn't that always the way, with bad policies like these?
See more of RedState's extensive coverage of the gig economy fight:
US Secy. of Labor Marty Walsh Is a Liar, Doing Biden's and Big Labor's Bidding
Union Free Radio, Ep. 1: Five Reasons People Hate the PRO Act
Pass the PRO Act, Because Richard Trumka Needs to Guarantee His Next Meal
