'As A Lifelong Democrat...'
Several public comments against New Jersey's independent-contractor rule urge Democrats to stop threatening their own voters' livelihoods.
Joseph Affatato is an independent insurance broker in Hamilton, New Jersey, who filed a public comment in opposition to New Jersey’s proposed independent-contractor rule.
This comment not only expresses frustration with the policymaking in question, but it also calls on his fellow Democrats—who have trifecta control of the government in Trenton right now—to listen to one of their own.
Affatato wrote:
“As a lifelong Democrat and active participant in Hamilton Township politics, I have long supported policies that protect workers and strengthen our communities. I believe in the important role that the government plays in ensuring fair treatment for all workers. However, the proposed ABC test is not the right solution. The ABC test, unconstrained without exemptions, represents a blunt instrument that will cause significant collateral damage to legitimate independent contractors and small businesses.
“The narrative surrounding independent contractors often focuses on gig economy workers, but this perspective overlooks the hundreds of thousands of highly skilled, licensed professionals who have deliberately chosen the independent contractor model.”
He’s right about that. App-based gig workers comprise less than 10% of all independent contractors, while this proposed rule-making would affect everyone across hundreds of professions.
Other people who submitted public comments to New Jersey’s Department of Labor & Workforce Development expressed even more pointed frustration with the Democratic Party. One stated that proposals like the Labor Department’s drive voters into the arms of Republicans in general and President Trump in particular.
Mike Bradley, who signed his comment as a member of the Communications Workers of America union, wrote this:
“We independent workers represent a third of the workforce, full- and part-time. There are better ways for labor to respond to us than to banish us. There are ways for labor to reach out to us. There are ways for us and labor to join in protecting workers against the 10%. Instead, though, you're pushing us into the welcoming hands of Trump and his Republicans and digging a deeper hole for unions to bury themselves in. There is little point in voting for unions or Democrats after being punished by laws like yours. Democrats can't outvote the MAGAs without our help.”
Here are those two public comments in full:
With Friends Like These…
Arguably the most personally directed comment that’s in the overwhelming crush of 99% opposition came from Kevin Kurdziel, who identifies himself as someone who knows New Jersey Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo.
Kurziel does not state his political affiliation. It appears that he sent Asaro-Angelo a direct message about the rule proposal on LinkedIn, and that Asaro-Angelo then forwarded that LinkedIn message to his own Labor Department to include in the public comments.
Here’s the message:
Elected Democrats with Concerns
The public comments above are in addition to letters of concern from two dozen legislators at the State House in Trenton—the majority of them Democrats.
Senate Labor Committee Chairman Gordon Johnson, Democrat
Senate Legislative Oversight Committee Chairman Andrew Zwicker, Democrat
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Lagana, Democrat
Senate Education Committee Chairman Joe Cryan, Democrat
Senate Majority Whip Vin Gopal, Democrat
Assemblywoman Margie Donlon, Democrat
Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul, Democrat
Senator Carmen Amato, Jr., Republican
Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, Republican
Assemblyman Gregory Myhre, Republican
Senator Parker Space, Republican
Assemblyman Mike Inganamort, Republican
Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, Republican
Senator Declan O’Scanlon, Republican
Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger, Republican
Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn, Republican
Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Patrick Diegnan, Democrat
Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak, Democrat
Assemblyman Sterley Stanley, Democrat
Senator Angela McKnight, Democrat
Senator Jon Bramnick, Republican
Senate Deputy Majority Leader Paul Sarlo, Democrat
Senator Benjie Wimberly, Democrat
Assemblyman James Kennedy, Democrat
There’s more to come from the estimated 9,500 public comments that were filed expressing 99% opposition to New Jersey’s proposed independent-contractor rule.