Each year, Freelance Isn’t Free offers a chance to gather as a community, to celebrate the hard-earned achievements we’ve won together, to express what challenges remain and how we might begin to find solutions.

We gathered on May 20 at Civic Hall (our first time in this venue), for a day of panels, information-sharing, and community building, with special guests like Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner (and our former Executive Director) Rafael Espinal, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Sam Levine, and New York City Council Member Chi Ossé. 

For those of you who couldn’t be there in person that day to join us, below are five takeaways from Freelance Isn’t Free Day.

1. AI is a huge opportunity for organizing
   Our first panel of the day brought together Kareema Bee (producer and content creator), James Folta (writer and editor), Henderson Cole (entertainment lawyer), and moderator James Del (digital media expert), who tackled the question on everyone’s mind: What are we going to do about AI?
   
   The group agreed that it’s a “tremendous opportunity for organizing” and that we must push back as much as we can. Not only do we organize against AI, but we can use our contracts to increase protections, asking for information of how our work might be used for AI, control over how it is used, and compensation should it be used for AI generation.
   
   Competition drives costs down, but if freelancers communicate and share rates with each other, we can increase the pot for everyone.
2. In an increasingly freelance society, freelancers must also have access to benefits
   The cost of the freedom of freelancing is often the traditional benefits that come with a 9-5 job. We gathered Rebecca Bailin (Executive Director and Co-Founder of New Yorkers United for Childcare), Samer Kalaf (Managing Director, Defector), John Surico (researcher, writer, and educator), and Hali Radecker (Director of Legislative Affairs, DCWP) to discuss how we can win policies that protect freelancers. They advised the importance of sharing resources, tapping into a collective, and getting “lived experiences in front of the levers of power.” Consider starting your own organization, like New Yorkers United for Childcare, to raise awareness for a cause, or your own website, like Defector, to create the workplace conditions you’d want for yourself.
3. Not all hours are created equal
   If you’re always second-guessing your rates (too low? too high?) Justine Clay reminded us in her Pricing Your Creative Work workshop that not all hours are created equal. Some may be worth charging more for, others less. It’s ok to be dynamic in your pricing. Use Justine’s free billable rate calculator to get started.
4. Almost 10 years after Freelance Isn’t Free, more can be done by the government to curtail nonpayment
   New York City Council Member Chi Ossé joined us to tell us more about his new bill, the Freelancers Payment Fund, which would allow for the creation of a payment fund that NYC-based freelancers can use to get paid via the city government, instead of their clients. This would help prevent freelancers from having to chase down clients, and eliminate fear of retaliation. Contact your local council member and tell them to sign on to the bill.
5. Freelancers are hungry for collaboration and opportunity
   While there are plenty of unknowns right now — specifically around AI and the economy — one thing is for certain, and that’s that freelancers are excited to share resources, learn from each other, and to hold bad actors accountable.

Here’s to another year of growing our community, fighting for stronger protections, and ensuring freelancers get paid — and on time, for that matter.