"Union avoidance consultants, often hired as independent contractors 
  which allows firms to circumvent federal reporting requirements, often 
  work with multiple clients at once, sometimes parachuting into a 
  worksite for just a few weeks or days to train managers and hold 
  "educational" meetings with workers. 

  Tracking the union avoidance firms behind anti-union campaigns is 
  intentionally made difficult by firms that subcontract out work to 
  other firms that hire independent contractors to avoid federal 
  reporting requirements laid out by the Department of Labor and shield 
  themselves from public scrutiny."

It really does seem that in this day and age, the "independent contractor" classification is just a legal car wash. At some point contractors have to become an auxiliary appendage to the corporation, but I don't know what point that is. I do know it's another symptom of a dysfunctional system where many things just don't 'feel' right.