I'm sorry for the small (wo)man getting crushed by this, but when you are working on a freelance basis, that's part of the deal and a foreseeable risk. You are essentially an entrepreneur with the risks that comes with it. If you find you can't strike and have effectively no leverage on your employer, you know that you are in a vulnerable position.
I'm not saying I'm fine with companies exploiting people by "outsourcing" all work from contracted employees to freelancers but it is a trend that is happening over the years and it is up to governments to re-balance the risk and reward between employers and employees through legislations. Because if we leave free market forces reign supreme, we either end up with an industry that is exploiting people, or an industry that can't get the people it needs because everyone becomes aware of it's practices and decides to pursuit their ambitions elsewhere, where less risk is involved. Sometimes something of a crisis is needed to make people aware and improve things.