When learning that she would be classified by her employer not as an employee, but as an "independent" contractor, Sara Horowitz decided to do something, not just accept denial of benefits and security from her job.  She grew up in a labor-oriented family and even though her position didn't qualify her to join any existing union, she decided to form her own. 

Horowitz and her work with the Freelancers Union were recently covered in a New York Times article. 

The 45,000 taxi cabs in New York City have been described as the seventh-largest transportation system in the United States—and at the AFL-CIO Innovators webpage, writer Robert Struckman notes:

If you ask a driver, there’s a good chance he or she will tell you, "I’m a member of the National Taxi Workers Alliance (NTWA)."

Musicians in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Texas can play a happy tune following a Dec. 27 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that says musicians in symphony orchestras are employees with the freedom to join unions—not independent contractors.