SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Thumbtack and Alia are proud to announce a new pilot partnership to bring portable benefits, like Paid Time Off and insurance products, to independent workers on Thumbtack.
This pilot program is the first partnership between Alia and an online platform, extending Alia’s reach into the online economy of work. Alia is the first portable benefits platform, and launched in December 2018 to house cleaners nationwide. Thumbtack is an app and website that helps customers find local, skilled professionals for virtually any project nationwide, including house cleaners.
Through the partnership, Thumbtack customers who hire a house cleaner in California or New York will be able to contribute a suggested $5 per cleaning, which can be used by the professional for the benefits they need. Benefits include Paid Time Off, and disability, accident, critical illness and life insurance. Thumbtack will contribute $25 to each pro who joins Alia, up to $20,000 in total for the first six months, to encourage participation and provide additional support.
As the independent workforce and demand for house cleaners continue to grow, the sector of the workforce excluded from access to necessary benefits is growing. According to a McKinsey study, nearly 30 percent of working-age people are engaging in independent work and many of them are going without many of the benefits traditionally offered by employers.
“We believe that if you work, you deserve benefits,” said Ai-Jen Poo, Director at the National Domestic Workers Alliance. “Most domestic workers have never had access to benefits, and Alia is one of the ways we’re working to solve that. Alia’s partnership with Thumbtack is an exciting opportunity to do even more.”
“Thumbtack is committed to bringing solutions to independent workers who lack access to benefits -- being independent shouldn’t mean you’re on your own,” said Thumbtack co-founder and CEO Marco Zappacosta. “Our pros can’t wait for the laws to change, so we are working with NDWA to bring a solution to house cleaners on Thumbtack. The biggest names in the industry are focused on using technology to eliminate the need for workers. At Thumbtack, our energy is focused on using technology to help workers find opportunity and security, and working with Alia is a step in the right direction.”
“Building a more equitable economy is going to take the participation of us all,” said Palak Shah, Founding Director of NDWA Labs and Social Innovations Director at NDWA. “We’ve already learned that customers want to contribute to benefits, and now we need online platforms to help make it easy for them to do so. This first partnership is our initial step into changing norms across every channel where work is found and managed.”
“When we look at the changing nature of work in this country, one of the biggest challenges is improving economic security for independent workers, so these kind of solutions are critical and timely,” said Alastair Fitzpayne, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative. “NDWA Labs and Thumbtack are showing how technology can be a force for positive change for independent workers. Though partnerships like this, we can better understand what solutions can be scaled, which is essential to meeting the needs of an evolving workforce.”
With this partnership, Thumbtack and Alia demonstrate how technology can be a powerful tool used for equity. This pilot program will first be rolled out to house cleaners on the platform in New York and California. Thumbtack professionals will be able to include a link to their Alia profile in their Thumbtack profile, making it easy for customers to start contributing to their benefits. Pros are then able to access their benefits by logging on to the Alia website. For more information, visit www.myalia.org/thumbtack.
About Alia
Alia is the first portable benefits platform, enabling multi-contributor, prorated, and portable benefits. Alia launched nationwide on December 11, 2018 for house cleaners, whose work structure is one of the most difficult to provide benefits to. Alia is a project of NDWA Labs, the innovation arm of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and is headquartered in New York. Learn more at www.myalia.org.
About NDWA Labs
NDWA Labs is the innovation arm of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). Founded in 2015, NDWA Labs was launched to experiment with new strategies for improving marketplace norms for domestic workers, including launching sustainable ventures and collaborating with the private sector. Our approach is to innovate on old solutions, build smart and practical tools and products, and form partnerships that help us reach and lift standards for domestic workers. In particular, NDWA Labs has been experimenting with ways to use technology to ensure we are shaping a future of work that works for all of us, not just some of us. Learn more at www.ndwalabs.org.
About Thumbtack
Thumbtack, headquartered in San Francisco, was created to solve a seemingly simple problem: local professionals need customers so they can run and grow their business. Customers need local pros too, but have trouble finding the right ones. So in 2008, the Thumbtack founders developed a marketplace bringing the two together. Since then, Thumbtack has helped hundreds of thousands of skilled professionals build successful businesses and millions of customers each year with everything from plumbing, to catering, to personal training to math tutoring. Learn more at www.thumbtack.com.