Last month, the organization started a site to solicit outstanding bills from web developers, app designers, SEO consultants, and every other manner of contractual helper. (Sadly, it looks like the  $2,012.00 entry for  "dildo polishing," has since been eliminated.) The grand total, which started at around $4 million, is already up to $15.9 million. And members are taking a print out with them upstate to "unfurl" down the steps at 2.15 pm.

The stunt is part of an attempt to get the State Senate to pass The Freelancer Payment Protection Act (S4129/A6698), an unprecedented bill that would, "finally give independent workers- 1/3rd of the U.S. workforce- Department of Labor protections when companies refuse to pay them," says the Union. Fulltime workers are protected by the DOL, but independent workers, who are stiffed an average of $4,600 a year, have two options: suing or walking away.

The bill passed the Assembly last June and has 24 sponsors in the Senate (seven Republicans, 17 Democrats), but is still being considered by the Labor committee.

"For the last several years, the struggling and transitioning economy has forced more and more New Yorkers to become freelancers in order to earn a living, pay their bills, and raise their families," Speaker Sheldon Silver, who sponsored the bill, said in a statement, "It is disturbing that so many of them are not receiving payment for their work."

Better hope whoever had to stand by the copier and staple together this miles-long invoice is promptly compensated  . . . or else!

Rendering of Cornell's proposal for Roosevelt Island.

Mayor Bloomberg isn't the only one with a gleam in his eye when it comes to plans to build an applied sciences campus in the five boroughs. Albany wants to help the mayor get the project (a shining achievement in a troubled third-term) under way before he's out of office.

To that end, the state economic development council Governor Cuomo put together to promote economic growth in New York City has declared the campus a "priority project." Crain's New York reports that the council of two dozen leaders in business, labor, and government plans on asking Albany for $40 million.

None of that money has been earmarked for the campus specifically, but the state might be able to assist in other ways.

For example, the council is asking for state support to accelerate the reviews and approval process for the campus or campuses. If Stanford or Cornell are the winning bidders, that might help expedite plans to build on Roosevelt Island as the state controls the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. Out-of-state institutions also require state approval for accreditation to grant students degrees in New York.

Gov. Cuomo's council might also be able to extend a hand to city natives. The council's report cites downtown Brooklyn near NYU-Poly as an "opportunity zone" for economic growth. For its tech campus proposal, NYU wants to build at 370 Jay St., in a city building leased by the MTA. According to Crain's:

"The strategic plan says that “an opportunity exists to either expand the Polytechnic campus and/or accommodate expanded entrepreneurial uses at 370 Jay St.” This could be good news for NYU as it could signal the MTA might be persuaded to move its equipment there out of the way."

Two campus solution is the new two state solution?

"The angry message demanded that Albany politicians 'stop shoveling wealth from the lower 99 percent into the top 1 percent' and “set aside your ‘no new taxes on anybody’ pledge.'"

The email was reportedly sent to State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, and State Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari. It's still unclear whether Governor Cuomo received the email as well.

WTEN in Albany says the text of the email reads:

“It’s time to tax the millionaires! If you don’t, I’m going to pay a visit with my carbine to one of those tech companies you are so proud of and shoot every spoiled Ivy League [expletive] I can find.”

It's hard to say exactly which tech companies they're targeting, but it's unlikely that it's the bootstrapped, lean crowd. Gov. Cuomo has been heavily touting a $4.4 billion upstate initiative led by IBM, Intel, and Samsung to develop next gen computer chip technology upstate.