Page 10 The Skanner June 13, 2018
cont’d from pg 9
study found that just 0.5
percent of workers en-
gaged in online gig work
in 2015.
A separate study by JP-
Morgan Chase estimat-
ed that gig workers were
leveling off at about 1
percent of the workforce
in 2016.
More drivers, fewer
construction workers
There are more in-
dependent workers in
some industries, but
they were offset in the
government data by de-
clines elsewhere, says
Lucas Puente, chief
economist at Thumb-
tack, an online market-
place for photographers,
plumbers and other con-
tractors.
The number of inde-
pendent
contractors
rose by about 200,000
in transportation from
2005 to 2017, the govern-
ment’s report found.
But the number of in-
dependent contractors
in construction fell by
about 225,000 over the
same period.
Drive for Uber part
time? You weren’t
counted
Puentes and some
other analysts said the
government’s
report
probably undercounted
the number of people in
alternative jobs.
In considering wheth-
er to include someone
as part of the alternative
workforce, it considered
only a worker’s primary
job.
So anyone who worked
at a retailer for, say, 20
hours a week and drove
for Uber 10 hours a week
wasn’t counted.
In addition, the gov-
ernment asked people
only whether they’d
worked independently
in the past week. Given
the erratic work sched-
ules of many gig workers
that narrowly phrased
question might also have
contributed to an under-
count.
Tax records point to
more independent
work
Another puzzle is that
tax data suggests that
more Americans are
self-employed as free-
lancers or independent
contractors, Katz said.
The proportion of Amer-
icans filing Schedule C
forms, used for business
income, has risen steadi-
ly in the past decade,
even while the Labor De-
partment’s surveys have
found that self-employ-
ment has declined.
Contracted out? You
might not have been
counted, either
Katz and Krueger’s
2016 study found a
sizable
increase
in
Americans
working
for contracting firms —
companies that provide,
for example, janitorial
or security services.
Many economists re-
gard that as a bigger con-
cern than gig workers:
When a company con-
tracts out its services,
it typically does so to
cut costs through lower
wages or skimpier ben-
efits.
Yet the government
counted only a subset
of contract workers —
those who work for just
one customer, like secu-
rity guards at a specific
building.
It didn’t include people
who work for multiple
customers, such as em-
ployees at a commercial
laundry cleaning linen
for a hotel that once did
it in-house. The govern-
ment wanted to avoid
also counting high-
er-end consultants and
others who serve multi-
ple companies.
So what does it matter?
The government’s re-
port was the subject of
intense interest in part
because of the impact it
might have on the policy
debates surrounding in-
dependent work.
Freelance advocates
say their ranks are grow-
ing steadily.
Many say policymak-
ers should consider
ways to help them, such
as by making health
and retirement benefits
more portable from job
to job.
But if independent
work isn’t growing
much, then such chang-
es aren’t as urgent.
“If we don’t under-
stand the labor market
in the United States, we
won’t have policies that
reflect how it works,”
said Stephane Kasriel,
CEO of Upwork, an on-
line freelance market-
place.
6 Mayors — Including Wheeler and
Durkan — Want Pot Removed From
Federal List of Illegal Drugs
Coalition asks for federal guidance of financial
institutions and expanded access to medical
marijuana
Gillian Flaccus,
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)
— Mayors from six U.S.
cities in states with legal
marijuana said Monday
they have formed a coa-
lition to push for federal
marijuana policy reform
just days after Presi-
dent Donald Trump ex-
pressed support for bi-
partisan congressional
legislation to ease the
federal ban on pot.
Mayors from Denver,
Seattle, Portland, San
Francisco, Los Angeles,
Las Vegas and West Sac-
ramento — all in mari-
juana-friendly states —
sponsored a resolution
at the U.S. Conference of
Mayors in Boston that
asked the U.S. govern-
ment to remove canna-
bis from a list of illegal
drugs, among other
things.
It was approved unan-
imously by the broader
gathering Monday, Lar-
ry Jones said, a spokes-
man for the conference.
Mayors from Oakland,
California and Thorn-
ton, Colorado weren’t
sponsors but pledged to
advocate for federal re-
forms.
“As mayors of cities
that have successfully
implemented and man-
aged this new industry,
we have hands-on ex-
perience that can help
Congress take the right
steps to support other
local governments as
they prepare to enter
this new frontier,” said
Denver Mayor Michael
B. Hancock, who led the
coalition. “We all face
common challenges.”
Portland Mayor Ted
Wheeler said marijuana
businesses employ thou-
sands of people and gen-
erate millions of dollars
AP PHOTO/DON RYAN
News
Economy
A marijuana plant is shown at a commercial grow in Springfield,
Ore., May 24, 2018. Mayors from six U.S. cities where marijuana is
legal have formed a coalition with the aim of preparing other states
and the federal government for marijuana legalization. Mayors from
Denver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and
West Sacramento announced Monday, June 11, 2018, on Twitter that
they had sponsored the resolution.
in Oregon.
“Cannabis prohibition
has failed. It has failed to
keep our children safe,
it has failed law enforce-
ment, and it has especial-
“
The bill supported by
both parties was intro-
duced June 7 and would
dramatically
reshape
the nation’s legal land-
scape for pot users and
Eventually, legalization will
come to every state — and we
want to make sure it’s done
so safely and effectively
ly failed communities of
color disproportionate-
ly targeted and prose-
cuted for low-level drug
offenses,” he said in an
e-mail Monday.
“Eventually, legaliza-
tion will come to every
state — and we want to
make sure it’s done so
safely and effectively.”
The resolution comes
after Trump said he
would “probably” back
a bipartisan congressio-
nal effort to ease a U.S.
ban on the drug that
about 30 states have le-
galized in some form.
businesses.
The federal ban that
puts marijuana on the
same level as LSD and
heroin has created a
conflict with states that
have legalized pot in
some form, creating a
two-tiered enforcement
system at the state and
federal levels.
The legislation with
four sponsors, includ-
ing Republican U.S. Sen.
Cory Gardner of Colora-
do, would ensure states
have the right to deter-
See POT on page 11
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6-6-18
