The Freelancers Union is an organization that represents the interests of self-employed freelance workers. It employs a different approach to unionism than traditional trade unions, most notably because it does not use strikes. In addition, its members do not pay unions dues and the Freelancers Union does not negotiate labor contracts with employers or represent members when they have a grievance. The Freelancers Union offers health insurance through an infrastructure called the Portable Benefits Network (PBN), providing health insurance at costs that are less than half the price of an average HMO premium charged to individuals in the New York City market, where over half of the organization’s members are located. The union also offers life and disability insurance, financial services, resources, and discounts to union members. Another benefit that is being considered is to offer 401(k) retirement plans to union members.

The Freelancers Union was started in 2001 by Sara Horowitz, a labor attorney and union organizer. Horowitz believed that unions that had been developed for blue-collar factory workers needed to be brought up-to-date for the twenty-first-century workforce, in which many employees are self-employed yet still need an organization to represent their collective interests.

Horowitz concluded that a union is essentially a means for workers to join together to solve problems. To be effective, it must follow an economic model that makes it independent of government, employers, and other institutions. She rejected the traditional union model of confrontation and of charging membership dues unrelated to the benefits received. Instead, she adopted a customer-centered approach: The Freelancers Union would provide members with a menu of services that they could choose to pay for, thus generating funds to spend on the union’s advocacy of labor laws favorable to freelancers. For example, in the United States freelancers are generally not entitled to unemployment insurance, even if a job they have held for as long as 18 months has come to an end.

In 2013, the Freelancers Union had over 200,000 members, and 23,000 received benefits through the PBN. Sara Horowitz expects the Freelancers Union to expand the organization to one million members by 2016. The union serves an unmet need in the market—the growing number of self-employed workers who are ineligible for employer-based benefits. Recently, Horowitz launched a Web site with social networking features for members. It provides a directory that makes it easier for potential employers to find a variety of freelance services offered by the union’s members, such as computer programming, event organizing, catering, or any other type of service an employer may be seeking.