WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressional Joint Economic Committee Ranking Member Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) today called on Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney to conduct the Contingent Worker Survey (CWS) as an essential part of understanding the future of our economy.
Contingent workers—temporary workers with few protections, hired on a per project basis—have long played significant roles in our economy, despite often being vulnerable to wage, health and safety, and discrimination violations. The Contingent Worker Survey has not been conducted since 2005, well before new developments that may have affected the nature of contingent work, like Uber and TaskRabbit, began.
In a letter, Sen. Heinrich called on OMB Director Mulvaney to conduct the CWS as a supplement to the May 2017 Current Population Survey and to repeat the survey every two years so that businesses, policymakers, researchers, and the public can better understand this form of work.
“Although this ‘on-demand’ and ‘gig’ economy presents interesting ways to leverage new technologies that better align with the demands of a global marketplace, contingent workers also face unique challenges that could leave them more vulnerable,” said Senator Heinrich. “The CWS would provide policymakers with important data about the size and characteristics of the contingent workforce as well as its access to benefits and basic labor protections. We must better understand the contingent workforce so we can build an economy of the future that will work for all.”
Senator Heinrich also asked for the commitment of the Trump administration to stand by the independence and integrity of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), reiterating the call to action stated in a March 2nd letter sent to the President. Data provided by the BLS and other statistical agencies are essential to helping businesses, workers, and policymakers understand and make choices about our country’s economy.
The letter to OMB Director Mick Mulvaney can be found here.
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For more information, please contact Latoya Veal at Latoya_Veal@jec.senate.gov or 202-224-0379.
