We are being SCREWED!! The federal government has decided that gig workers aren't as important as traditional workers and unless we start speaking up,
we won't see ANYTHING from the programs that we are specifically entitled to due to Covid-19. The are two ways this is happening.
First, Unemployment benefits are lagging because states are (A) using systems 40 years out of date, and (B), the system is designed to place ALL OF US at the back of the line when it comes to benefits. No state has gotten their system anywhere close to being able to handle the unemployment crush, let alone adjusted the systems to accommodate gig workers. Now I'm seeing that it could be May or even June before the kinks in unemployment are ironed out. How long can people wait when bills are due and most of the banks ideas of "mortgage forbearance is to make you pay all the payments they let you skip at once?!?
The other way they are bending us over is with the SBA PPP loan program. 2.5 months of payroll.... gig workers eligible... and the Treasury Department dosen't release the info on documents that gig workers need to apply until 5 DAYS after the PPP loan program starts accepting gig workers applications?!? When 2/3 of the funding for the PPP program is gone?!? WTF is up with that? As far as I can see, Its a blatant attempt (in both programs) to deprioritize gig workers in favor of traditional established businesses.
Gig workers make up 36% of the US workforce and we are being left behind like an afterthought.
