Growing support for gig workers

The gig economy is growing. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has stated that this year more than 40 percent of New Yorkers will be employed in the gig economy. The governor thinks now is the time to ensure these workers are provided the same rights and protections as other workers, and the public agrees.

A recent poll by Siena Research Institute found that 75 percent of those polled support ensuring that workers in the gig economy receive basic employee protections.

According to a report by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations on the work experiences of gig economy workers, many gig workers raised concerns including unstable earnings, lack of benefits, and harassment, with nowhere to turn for help.

App companies meanwhile are dumping money into ads to convince these workers that the coveted flexibility of their work will go away if they are granted rights and protections that other workers enjoy. Don’t buy it. Nowhere in any of the proposals does it trample on the ability of app companies to continue to provide flexible work schedules.

This is about treating an emerging and growing workforce the same as other workers, plain and simple. Let’s get this done this year.

John Durso,

Bellmore

Editor’s note: The writer is president of Local 338 and president of the Long Island Federation of Labor.     

Anti-Trump mantra misses the point

Christopher Dale’s “Is the U.S. looking at a Liberal Trexit?” [Opinion, Jan. 28] restates the millennial mantra of “If Trump wins, I’m leaving.”

He is flummoxed first as to how President Donald Trump won the first time, and then why some 40% of Americans support him, even during the impeachment. He is terrified that Trump might win, again.

Perhaps Dale means he has to find a safe space where he won’t have to deal with the good economy or a low unemployment rate. Dale claims that the president lacks a baseline competency, however, Trump had a top-rated TV show, made billions of dollars and became president by beating what many people said was one of the most qualified people to run for president. What nonplused me in the piece is the impression that if there were Trexit (a mass liberal exodus), we deplorables would think that was a bad thing.

James Laurita,

 Commack

A sinking feeling overwhelmed me as I read Christopher Dale’s opinion piece. Do his words truly represent the thinking of today’s liberals? So much hatred for the president of the United States. Whether Dale believes it or not, there are always two sides to a story. An unwillingness to see, or at least respect those with opposing views, apparently has become the norm. Renouncing one’s citizenship cannot be the answer, and would do more harm to Dale and his liberal band than it would to the nation.

Phil Greco,

Smithtown

Regarding Christopher Dale’s observation that “A functioning democracy requires a critical mass of citizens capable of choosing leaders with baseline competency,” I would suggest that was exactly the outcome of the 2016 election. Thankfully, President Donald Trump’s nearly 63 million popular votes and 304 electoral votes kept Hillary Clinton from becoming our 45th president. I also would suggest that if the Democrats nominate Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2020, it will happen again.

Keep your bags packed, Christopher.

Mark McEntee,

Garden City

Trump defense didn’t work then or now

President Donald Trump’s lawyers are arguing that because all politicians trade political favors, what he did with Ukraine is not an impeachable crime [“Cannot be impeachable,” News, Jan. 30]. That argument went by the wayside when I was a child. After being caught doing something, saying, “But, Mom, Tommy was doing it, too!” never held water. Or, when older, saying, “But, Your Honor, everyone was speeding, I was just trying to keep up” did not work either. Just because everyone is doing something wrong does not make it right.

Mark Herzog,

Rockville Centre 

Alan Dershowitz, an attorney for President Donald Trump in the impeachment trial, said that if the president does something in the “public interest” to get himself elected, it is not impeachable.[“Trump defense indefensible,” Editorial, Jan. 31] Wow!

Niccolò Machiavelli, in his book “The Prince,” said, “The ends justifies the means.” It seems to me that both Dershowitz and Machiavelli essentially are saying the same thing. They are saying that a leader’s actions are justifiable if the leader thinks they will lead to the greater good.

Norman Shainmark,

Wantagh

An unfortunate turn of events

We’ve grown accustomed to the daily lies, the foreign policy based on a toss of the dice, the kids in cages and the parade of friends, associates and appointed officials heading to prisons. And we wring our hands and say, “We’re better than this.” Obviously, we’re not. I’m tempted to say, “The chickens will come home to roost.” No, they won’t. Shameful.

Chris Marzuk,

Greenlawn