Is the “New” Brooklyn Economy For Real?
Sara Horowitz
Freelancers Union
Brooklyn is a blueprint for the country. Independent work—freelancing, part-time, consulting, temping, self-employment—has now surged to almost one-third of the jobs in the US. People are venturing out on their own, either out of necessity or by choice, into accounting, design, law, child care, financial planning, and everything in between. And our state is leading the way: Freelancers Union’s membership has grown to 170,000 nationwide and 35,000 in Brooklyn alone. New York—and in particular Brooklyn—has become the hotbed for this creative growth. Freelancers Union is based in DUMBO, alongside Etsy, Neighborhoodies, Loosecubes, Gothamist, New York Foundation for the Arts, and a slew of galleries and art studios.
Unfortunately, just because the future-economy is here today doesn’t mean our support system has caught up. Freelancers still struggle with challenges that “traditional” workers don’t have to: unpaid wages, a lack of unemployment insurance, finding affordable health care, and unfair taxation. Because this workforce is by definition independent and diverse, it’s also challenging to organize freelancers to create a powerful, unified voice.
In New York, we’re starting to see independent workers come together to create real change. In fact, New York State is currently the best place in the country to be a freelancer: Freelancers Union and our members helped repeal the Unincorporated Business Tax in 2009, an unfair double-tax on the self-employed; we’re nearing passage of the Freelancer Payment Protection Act, which would help freelancers collect unpaid wages; our social-purpose insurance company is already serving over 23,000 New York freelancers and their families.
The only way to continue achieving success is to corral the power of the collective. Only by coming together, exchanging, sharing, networking, and organizing can we make our voices heard—in politics (legislation) as well as in markets (supporting freelancer-friendly businesses). We call this New Mutualism, and it’s at the root of our work. It’s how we created tools to help freelancers, like Client Scorecard and Contract Creator, and why we hold monthly meetings with our members.
Brooklyn is at the forefront of creating a system of mutual support that offers its residents the freedom to build meaningful, connected and independent lives.