New Majority Project

In a move that will further destroy jobs and deepen Minnesota’s economic slump, DFLers in the Minnesota House and Senate are moving a bill that will decrease the take home pay of hard working independent contractors in Minnesota’s trucking industry.  Despite the good faith efforts to “fix” the bill, the final product proves the old adage “there’s no right way to do the wrong thing.”

By saddling MN employers with burdensome new regulations and subjecting them to litigation and government harassment while removing the certainty that employers rely on, HF 3296 will all but eliminate the ability of many Minnesotans to work as independent contractors in important parts of the trucking industry.

Independent contractors work on their terms.  If a driver needs to be home at 3:15 to meet the bus, she can do that as an independent contractor.  If a driver has a sick child and needs to take time in the morning to provide care, he can do that without fear of being written up for punching in late.  Need a Friday off?  It’s your choice.

In addition to work hour flexibility, a motivated driver can earn significantly more, two or three times more, than a standard hourly driver.  Yet, despite all human experience, some politicians just don’t get that when a person is allowed to reap the benefits of their work effort, they are happier and more motivated.

A Solution in Search of a Problem

So, if Minnesota’s independent contractor law is working so well, why change it?  Political payback for the Teamsters’ Union.  The Teamsters are generous donors of both time and money to liberal causes and politicians.  Now that the DFL controls both the Minnesota House and Senate, they want their agenda passed.

Is this about increasing union membership or the well being of hard working Minnesotans?    

Some politicians will try to use the power of government to regulate out of existence things they personally don’t like.  Some in public office just don’t accept the fact that our economy is different than it was 30 years ago.  Workers and employers both want flexibility.  Younger workers especially are much more inclined to change jobs and pursue new and different opportunities.  They don’t want to be shoehorned into situations that don’t fit their needs or preferences. 

Likewise, in an extremely competitive global economy that is facing serious problems, layering new regulatory burdens and mandates on employers makes no sense.  At a time when the economy is suffering from sky high gas and energy prices, why add regulations that will, at the same time, make transporting things slower and more expensive? 

Perversely, everyone loses if the liberals in St. Paul, at the behest of their Teamster allies, succeed in eliminating substantial numbers of independent contractors. Because of these new government-imposed compliance costs, fewer people will be employed at lower wages, and costs to shippers will rise.  That’s the wrong approach any time, but especially now.

Some will claim that this is a reasonable compromise, that the bill has been modified enough that it is less damaging than before.  While it’s true that the bill isn’t as bad, it’s still bad.  It’s still puts the heavy hand of government squarely in the middle of work arrangements where it doesn’t belong.  It erodes our freedoms, hurts workers and our economy a little slower, but it still hurts them. 

If a bill is too regulatory and burdensome, it remains too regulatory and burdensome even if you carve out one group of people.  The people in the lifeboat are ok, but what about the folks still in the water?

Additionally, does anyone really believe this is the end, rather than beginning of the effort to eliminate the use of independent contractors?  The Unions got much of what they want, and they’ll be coming back for more.  It’s what they do.

In the end, Governor Pawlenty’s veto pen is all that stands in the way of another plank in the DFL’s pro-recession agenda.  He should do so if this bill reaches his desk.  Let’s hope enough Republicans, and pro-jobs, pro-worker Democrats, have the good sense to sustain his veto this time.  Minnesotans can’t afford another blow.