Last Messenger Appreciation Day (October 9, 2011) California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 459 (SB 459) that imposes strict penalties on employers who willfully misclassify workers as independent contractors as well as advisors (excluding lawyers) who knowingly counsel employers to engage in willful misclassification.

This new law came into effect on January 1, 2012. It adds Sections 226.8 and 2753 to the California Labor Code.

Section 226.8 prohibits the willful (“voluntarily and knowingly”) misclassification of a worker as an independent contractor. It also prohibits employers from charging misclassified individuals for items such as  materials, space rental, services, government licenses, repairs, equipment maintenance, or fines arising from the individual’s employment.

Penalties include fines of $5,000 to $10,000 for first the violation and up to $25,000 for repeat violations.

It also includes other penalties such as ordering an employer to post a notice on its website for a year, stating that the “employer has committed a serious violation of the law,” has changed its business practices to comply and   The notice must be posted for a year and must invite misclassified employees  to contact the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

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By Joe Hendry

“Hey, there’s blood on this envelope!” said Mary, the receptionist.

“Sorry about that, it’s mine,” I answered, pointing to the blood dripping from the knuckles on my right hand.

“But the cheque is here in plenty of time, right?” I said, in a plea for some appreciation.

After all, I almost died getting that multi-million dollar cheque to Mary in less than twenty minutes because she forgot to call it in sooner.

“Yes, plenty of time,” she said as she signed my manifest.

I didn’t blame Mary. It’s the nature of my job as a bike messenger. My job is to deliver one hundred percent on time, all of the time, with no exceptions and no excuses. I never seek appreciation but this one time I hoped for just a little.

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2011 Markus Cook Award recipient Stephanie ‘Papillon’ Bartczak

The International Federation of Bike Messenger Associations (IFBMA) is pleased to announce that London’s Stephanie ”Papillon” Bartczak has been awarded the 2011 “Markus Cook Memorial Award” (MCA) for Services to the International Messenger Community. The IFBMA has awarded the Markus Cook Award (MCA) since 1998 to the person who has inspired and empowered the wider messenger community, and who put all messengers before themselves.

From Moving Target:

After being nominated for the 2nd year running, Stephanie ‘Papillon’ Bartczak has been presented the Markus Cook Award for services to the messenger community. Papillon is well-known within the messenger community for being very active within the organisation of the London Courier Emergency Fund, which exists to give financial assistance to London’s bicycle messengers and couriers who suffer injury whilst working. She helped found the Fund in 2007, and has worked to build it up constantly since then.

Read the full article at Moving Target

Dandy Blog, September 28, 2011

by Colleen Kirley
designs by Dieter Janssen

Dieter Janssen, architect and former professor at the University of Toronto, wanted a custom bike and went to La Carrera Cycles. One day, while he was in the shop, he overheard owner Nadir Olivet talking about having the Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC) in Guatemala. Janssen had recently taken interest in racing tracks – he visited the 333-metre outdoor velodrome in Cuba and has ridden the Forest City velodrome in London, Ontario – and when Nadir mentioned the figure 8 track, he was immediately interested in being involved.

Janssen was up for the challenge. He enlisted some students and created a work-study program out of the track. “It’s a complex geometry,” Janssen said. “Because of the physics of that geometry – we really needed to get right in terms of making this track function properly.” On Janssen’s website, you can view just how complex this work was – pages and pages of diagrams and equations map out what will ultimately become the track. “We worked with a mathematician who recommended some people who were also interested in the project. Very quickly, we had a team together.”

More…

Dandyhorse, September 2011 

by Tammy Thorne with files from Colleen Kirley

Northern Star, September 13, 2011

By Chelsey Boutan

When assistant professor of sociology Jeff Kidder first rode his bike downNew York City’s streets, he was afraid.

Angry commuters, red lights, traffic, one-way streets – Kidder struggled to weave through the urban maze so he could pick up an application at a bike messenger company.

“It’s sort of like being in the middle of an aluminumGrand Canyon,” Kidder said. “It feels very frightening.”

Kidder’s interest in this subculture grew as he worked as a bike messenger for his doctoral research, which became the foundation for his recently published book, “Urban Flow: Bike Messengers and the City.”

“A bike messenger’s self identity is really wrapped up in their work, and I find that very interesting,” Kidder said. “My book tries to unpack what about this job allows that to happen.”

For more than three years, Kidder worked as a bike messenger inNew York City,SeattleandSan Diego. Kidder said having direct experience with the group’s activities is the best way to study a subculture.

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