On Tuesday, President Biden announced the appointment of Julie Su to be his next Labor Secretary. If confirmed, Su would be the first Asian American person to fill a secretary level role in Biden’s cabinet. Formerly the Secretary of Labor in California, Su supported California’s AB 5 law, which reclassified independent contractors as employees and which Californians voted to annul with Prop 22.

“Former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh recognized that many gig workers want the flexibility to choose their own hours and be their own boss. Julie Su has devoted her career to helping workers, and I hope she listens to what gig workers have to say,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “Forcing a reclassification of our nation’s 70 million freelancers and gig workers would have serious economic repercussions for workers and for the country as a whole.”

A gig work policy analysis published by Chamber of Progress found that if the federal government were to pursue the forced reclassification of independent contractors as full-time employees, an estimated 3.4 million American workers could lose work and direct income.

###

Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future. We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.