FREELANCERS UNION BLOG

  • Director Dispatches

Speaking of Labor Day…

September 5, 1882, Union Square, NYC. Considered the first Labor Day celebration in the U.S. Organized by NY's Central Labor Union. About 10,000 people came.

The other day, I had a really interesting conversation with Matthew Bishop, of The Economist and Newswire.FM, about problem solving, democracy and freelancers.

He wrote a great article for Labor Day about the changing nature of work—something I’ve been talking about for a long time—and the challenges facing the new workforce.

He cited challenges like low wages, high technology and the quest to fulfill human potential. I'd probably add a few more to the list.

We covered a lot in our interview, including solutions. That’s where Freelancers Union came in--and our mission to bring independent workers together to harness our collective power.

Here’s a video clip:

“We’re in this era where we’re talking about the peer economy and collaborative consumption; there’s a whole new discussion about how people are coming together. Freelancers are a very special group, and they’re already coming together to start solving their own problems.”

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the new workforce?

Sara Horowitz As the founder of Freelancers Union, Sara has been a voice for freelancers for over two decades.