Times Square Billboard: Zero Stars for Union Bosses’ Gig Economy Power Grab

Washington D.C. (May 25, 2021) — Tomorrow, the Job Creators Network, a leading small business advocacy organization, is placing a billboard in New York City’s Times Square ripping a harmful gig worker bill that union bosses, and some gig companies are trying to cram through the New York State Legislature.

The billboard reads, “Zero Stars for New York’s Union Boss Power Grab” and encourages readers to “find out why everyone hates New York’s plan to force gig workers into unions.” The Job Creators Network website details why this proposal, the existence of which was reported last week in Bloomberg, would strip gig workers of a free and fair vote on whether to be covered by union-negotiated workplace rules.

View the billboard here.

The gig worker bill would codify a backroom deal in which Uber and Lyft worked with New York’s union bosses by agreeing to establish a “sectoral bargaining” system for gig workers in the state. Under this system, rideshare drivers would be subject to labor agreements brokered between unions and gig companies, even if only a small minority of workers agreed to union representation.

The deal requires gig companies to provide unions with personal contact information for workers who use their platforms. Unions can then use this information to lobby workers into organizing. The legislation does not secure a secret ballot election for workers considering unionization. Instead, it reportedly requires just 10 percent of gig workers to agree to the union via card check — a system of union organizing that leaves workers open to coercion and intimidation.

Alfredo Ortiz, President and CEO of the Job Creators Network, released the following statement on the billboard:

“Sectoral bargaining is a terrible idea that only serves to line union bosses’ pockets at the expense of hardworking Americans. Rideshare drivers benefit from the flexibility of working on their own terms and being their own boss. If this bill becomes law, these drivers will be stripped of that flexibility and locked into a union contract, and union dues payments, whether they like it or not. The interests of rideshare drivers had no place in this backroom deal that was cooked up by Uber, Lyft, and the state’s labor unions. Anyone who believes rideshare drivers deserve a say in how they earn a living should oppose it.”