{"id":143335,"date":"2025-06-20T23:22:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T03:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=143335"},"modified":"2025-06-20T23:22:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T03:22:25","slug":"walberg-mackenzie-host-roundtable-with-independent-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=143335","title":{"rendered":"Walberg, Mackenzie Host Roundtable with Independent Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walberg, Mackenzie Host Roundtable with Independent Workers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bethlehem, PA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) hosted a roundtable in Bethlehem, PA titled \u201cThe Independent Workforce Speaks: Innovation Through Experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chairmen heard from a wide variety of community leaders, stakeholders, and independent contractors in the Bethlehem area who depend on clear worker classification laws so businesses and independent contractors can work together to grow the local economy.<\/p>\n

Roundtable attendees agreed that congressional action\u2014like the\u00a0Modern Worker Empowerment Act<\/em><\/a>\u2014and the ability for businesses to offer portable benefits are needed to support the independent workforce and protect their status.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was glad to attend today\u2019s roundtable and hear from Pennsylvania\u2019s independent contractors firsthand,\u201d\u00a0said Chairman Walberg.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cOur discussions made one thing clear: Americans want to protect the freelance model and empower the independent workforce. Although the Biden-Harris administration tried to push a radical anti-worker agenda that undermined independent contractors, Republicans are promoting policies that give Americans flexibility and choice. As our economy evolves, we must always give American workers the chance to evolve with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a pleasure to welcome Chairman Walberg to the Greater Lehigh Valley for today\u2019s roundtable, where we heard directly from independent workers and industry leaders about how flexible work arrangements are powering innovation and opportunity,\u201d\u00a0said Rep. Mackenzie<\/strong>. \u201cIndependent workers\u2014whether freelancers, contractors, or app-based earners\u2014are choosing freedom and flexibility to build careers on their own terms. Our policies should protect that choice and reflect the reality of modern work. That\u2019s why the House budget includes provisions like eliminating taxes on tips, because when we empower independent workers, we strengthen our local communities and build a more dynamic economy for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nLexie Manning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walberg, Mackenzie Host Roundtable with Independent Workers Bethlehem, PA\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) hosted a roundtable in Bethlehem, … Continue reading Walberg, Mackenzie Host Roundtable with Independent Workers<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5717,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bethlehem","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/us-ryan.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=143335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/140534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=143335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=143335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=143335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}