Thank You

I am sincerely honored to receive the Institute for the American Worker's 2025 Defender of Worker Freedom Award.

The text I received seemed innocuous enough. “Do you have 5 minutes?”

Moments later came the call from F. Vincent Vernuccio, co-founder and president of the Institute for the American Worker in Washington, D.C. I had last seen Vinnie in person back in May, after I testified at a hearing before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections in the U.S. House of Representatives. After the hearing, the two of us spent that whole afternoon hightailing it from congressional office to congressional office, running up and down staircases and lining up co-sponsors for the Modern Worker Empowerment Act to protect independent contractors.

That U.S. House hearing was one of two where I’d testified this year, with a second appearance in July before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Pensions and Labor. So when Vinnie asked if I was available to be in Washington again in early December, I figured that maybe another congressional hearing was in the works.

Then he told me he wanted me to mark my calendar for a party. The Institute for the American Worker was going to name me a recipient of this year’s Defender of Worker Freedom Award.

I’m pretty sure I went speechless after that. For a solid 10 seconds.

I recall stammering something like, “Wait, what? Defender of… Didn’t you give that to Bill Cassidy and Virginia Foxx last year?”

Indeed, he said, the 2024 recipients of this award were U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, current chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, and U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, then-chairwoman of the House Committee on Education of the Workforce.

And this year’s recipients were going to be U.S. Representative Bob Onder of Missouri and me.

“Both Rep. Onder and Kim Kavin have used their unique positions to stand up for the American worker,” Vinnie said in the press release that went out yesterday from Institute for the American Worker. “Rep. Onder has been a leader in Congress, keeping workers at the center of developing labor legislation. Kim Kavin continues to publicize the struggles independent workers face against government overreach and bring real life context to how specific regulations would hinder their ability to prosper.”

Vinnie Vernuccio, president of the Institute for the American Worker, and yours truly in December 2025, Washington, D.C.

One Voice Among Many

I’m beyond humbled and grateful to receive this award, and to have been able to attend the lovely event in Washington earlier this month. It was held in a room filled with people who work tirelessly to protect everybody’s fundamental freedom to be our own bosses.

Many of these people have been focused on this issue for a long time. In some cases, they’ve been at it for decades. Vinnie’s own work goes back at least to the administration of George W. Bush. Visiting fellows at the Institute for the American Worker are an impressive bunch too.

I was grateful to be included at this month’s event, and to have some amazing conversations. It was a fun gathering of thoughtful individuals who are trying to stop the freelance busting that’s happening all across the country.

What an incredible honor. I can’t say “thank you” enough.

And I am truly grateful for the opportunity to play my small role in this nationwide army of smart, hardworking people who are fighting for us all.