Connecticut Shelves Gig Bargaining Bill Amid Union Divisions
The bill would have created the nation’s first sectoral bargaining system for the gig economy.
Connecticut lawmakers are shelving a bill that aimed to establish a novel system of collective bargaining rights for gig workers. The proposal had union support but provoked pushback from some in organized labor.
The state legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee abandoned its plans to vote this week on the bill, which would have established the country’s first “sectoral bargaining” system for gig workers. The proposal aimed to set up negotiations between representatives of gig workers and multiple companies over industrywide recommended rules, without making the workers employees. The bill was spearheaded by the Independent Drivers Guild, an affiliate of the International Association of Machinists which receives funding from Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc., and it had been endorsed by the Connecticut AFL-CIO.