Free the Freelancers
解放自由职业者
Workers of the world unite—to protect your freedom.
全世界的工人团结起来——保护你们的自由。
You have nothing to lose, but your jobs...
你没什么可输的，除了你的工作。
Which is exactly what is happening in California.
而这正是发生在加利福尼亚的情况。
And threatening to spread to the rest of the country.
而且它恐怕会蔓延到美国其他地方。
Just what we need, right?
正是我们需要的，对吗？
Fewer jobs and fewer people employed.
更少工作也更少人被雇用。
Why is this happening?
这为什么会发生？
Exhibit A:
物证 A：
Assembly Bill 5 or AB5, as it’s commonly known.
州众议院 5 号法案， 俗称 AB5。
Passed by the California legislature in September of 2019, AB5 was authored by a former union boss Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez. The stated goal was to protect freelance workers from employers taking advantage of them. Instead, it has pushed thousands of these workers into the unemployment line.
2019 年 9 月经加州议会通过，AB5 是由前工会领袖，女州众议员洛蕾娜·冈萨雷斯起草的。既定目标是为了保护自由职业工作者不被雇主占便宜，相反，它迫使数以千计工作者加入了失业队伍。
Here’s why:
原因是：
Workers in the United States are classified as either employees or independent contractors, sometimes known as freelancers.
美国工作者被归类为雇员或独立合同工，有时也称为自由职业者。
Independent contractors are self-employed and contract their labor to one or more firms. The upsides to this arrangement are clear: Freelancers decide whom they work for, when, where, and how. They are their own boss.
独立合同工是自我雇佣并且与一家或多家公司结成劳动协议。这种安排好的一面是明显的：自由职业者自己决定为谁、什么时候、什么地点和怎么工作。他们是他们自己的老板。
So, then, what are employees?
那么，什么是雇员？
Employees typically work for one employer. In exchange, they are entitled to workplace benefits and protections that independent contractors are not — such as healthcare, time off, minimum wage, and unemployment insurance.
雇员通常为一位雇主工作。作为交换，他们有权拥有职场津贴与保护，独立合同工所没有的，例如医保、休假、最低工资和失业保险。
We don’t have to agree which kind of employment is better. Different people have different preferences. It’s called choice.
我们不必同意哪一种雇佣形式更好。不同的人有不同的偏好。这就叫选择。
But some people — specifically, unions and progressive politicians—are anti-choice.
但一些人，特别是工会和进步主义政客，反对选择。
AB5’s author Assemblywomen Gonzalez disdains freelance work. “These were never good jobs,” she says.
AB5 的起草人，州众议员冈萨雷斯鄙视自由职业。她说「这些从来都不是好工作。」
Oh really?
噢真的吗？
She might want to talk to some of the 2 million Californians or the 57 million Americans who freelance. 46% of those workers happen to be women.
她或许会想跟两百万加利福尼亚人和 5700 万从事自由职业的美国人谈谈 。这些职业者中有 46% 为女性。
Of course, the AB5 supporters would say the law is needed because companies, especially gig economy firms such as Uber and Lyft, willfully misclassify workers as freelancers to avoid providing benefits.
当然，AB5 的支持者们会说这个法案是必须的，因为公司，尤其是零工经济公司，例如 Uber 和 Lyft，故意将工人们错误归类为自由职业者以避免提供福利。
Why not ask the workers themselves?
为什么不问问工人们自己？
Well, pollsters have.
好吧，民意调查公司问过。
According to a McKinsey study, nearly 80% of gig workers say they’re happier than those working traditional jobs. They love their freedom and also earn a good living. In fact, over 17 million freelancers quit their traditional job to freelance and two out of three of them say they earn more now than before.
根据麦肯锡的一份研究，将近 80% 的零工业者说他们比那些做着传统工作的人快乐。他们爱自己的自由并同样挣着好生活。事实上，超过 1700 万自由职业者辞去他们的传统工作转向自由职业，并且其中三分之二的人说他们比之前挣得更多。
For the majority, their new incomes outpaced their previous salary within just one year.
对于大部分人，他们的新收入不到一年就超过了之前的工资。
Half of the freelancers say they would not take a traditional job no matter how much they were offered.
一半的自由职业者说他们或许不会接受传统工作，无论给他们出价多少。
And, in a survey of female gig workers, nearly two out of three women who have a side job prefer being independent contractors over being employees.
还有，在一项对女零工业者的问卷调查中，有一份副业的女性中的将近三分之二更愿意当独立合同工而不是成为雇员。
AB5 has already done damage. It has wiped out the livelihoods of many independent contractors and will limit new opportunities in the future.
AB5 已经造成了伤害。它毁掉了许多独立合同工的生计，并且将会限制未来的新机遇。
Freelance writers and journalists have been especially hurt. The law includes a provision making it illegal for them to produce more than 35 pieces of content in a year for a single company.
自由职业作家和记者尤其受到伤害。这项法案其中一条规定禁止他们一年内为同一家公司生产超过 35 篇内容。
Left-leaning Vox Media hailed the bill’s passage as “a victory for workers everywhere” then turned around and laid off 200 freelance writers rather than make them full-time employees.
左倾的 Vox 媒体歌颂这个法案的通过是「各地员工的一次胜利」然后转头裁掉了 200 名自由职业作家而不是把他们雇为全职雇员。
The ride-sharing industry estimates that AB5 will increase their labor costs by 20–30%. As a result, rideshare companies may schedule drivers in advance and reduce the number of drivers during slow hours or in less busy markets. For customers, this means longer wait times, fewer available rides, and higher prices. For drivers, it means reduced flexibility and reduced income. It may also kill hundreds of thousands of jobs.
共享出行行业估算 AB5 将使他们的人工成本上升 20 到 30%。结果是，共享出行公司可能会预先安排司机，并减少闲时或较不繁忙市场的司机数量。对于顾客，这意味着更长的等待时间、更少的可能车辆和更高的价格。对于司机，它意味着减少的灵活性和减少的收入。它同样还可能扼杀成上千万个工作机会。
