Dear John,
While the government is shut down, corporations like DoorDash are still busy exploiting their gig workers.
The cynically named Modern Worker Empowerment Act — a textbook example of Orwellian doublespeak — is anything but. Far from empowering workers, it is designed to disempower them, stripping millions of workers of the ability to organize and collectively demand better pay and working conditions.
The legislation deepens inequality in the workforce by allowing companies to reclassify employees as “contractors” under a deliberately vague and far-reaching definition of “managerial skills.” Under this bill, if an employee uses “business acumen or professional judgment,” or if they have “significant control over the details of the way work is performed,” they can be reclassified as a contractor.
A nurse making decisions about patient care, a teacher designing lesson plans, or a DoorDash driver choosing a delivery route could suddenly find themselves reclassified. But these workers aren’t “independent entrepreneurs” — they are employees, who deserve the rights and protections that come with that status.
Stretching “managerial skills” to include the ordinary choices workers make on the job, the legislation would create a whole new level of exploitation in the gig economy. Companies could deny employer-provided healthcare, wage protections, and the right to unionize — all to pad their own bottom lines.
Send a direct message to DoorDash CEO Tony Xu: Stop exploiting workers! Call off your lobbyists urging Congress to pass this bill that will harm your workers.
DoorDash, already notorious for denying its drivers employee status, is lobbying aggressively for this legislation. By backing this bill, DoorDash makes it clear that its priority is not the workers who keep the company running, but the executives and investors who profit from their labor.
Amazon likes to create the sense that their workers and delivery drivers are “masters of their own destiny,” recruiting with slogans like “Come build the future with us,” “Are you ready for what’s next?” and “Work Hard. Have Fun. Make History.” But the reality is that these workers, who create the vast wealth of Jeff Bezos — the fourth richest man in the world — suffer workplace injury rates well above the industry average.
The bill would help Amazon, DoorDash, and companies like them cement that exploitation permanently into law. The reality is clear: this bill isn’t about empowerment, it’s about exploitation. By denying workers the right to stand together, it rigs the system in favor of the wealthiest CEOs and corporations at the direct expense of the people who make their success possible.
Tell DoorDash: stop pushing this anti-worker legislation, and stop undermining the rights of America’s workforce.
Thank you for standing with the workers of America, who know the difference between being empowered and being exploited.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
