Seattle gig workers' victory: hazard pay & sick leave!
TODAY, Seattle City Council voted by unanimously by a 9 - 0 vote to pass the nation’s first hazard pay law for gig workers. When signed by the mayor, CB 119979 will require large food and grocery delivery companies to pay workers an additional $2.50/delivery to reflect the added risk and expense they are taking on as essential workers during a global pandemic.
"While our economy is at risk due to quarantine, Instacart is cashing in more than ever. They had a huge opportunity to prove they care about the essential workers who do what their corporate employees would never do: shop in stores with COVID-19 floating around everywhere. Instead, they refused to offer hazard pay, overhired, and actually decreased pay. I have gone from making a reasonable income to questioning my ability to put food on the table, all while Instacart rolls out more and more public statements to fool consumers. It's time we get treated according to the risk we are facing every day."
- Shenaya B., Seattle-area Instacart worker
Workers with the Pay Up campaign have been relentlessly speaking out about the need for essential protections, during the crisis and in the long run — and this victory comes on the heels of Seattle City Council’s vote on June 1 in favor of CB 119793, a first-of-its-kind emergency sick leave law specifically designed to cover gig workers classified as independent contractors.
“I went to the ER in January with extreme flu-like symptoms, constantly coughing and gasping for breath with a fever of 103. Although extremely weak, constantly coughing and having trouble taking a full breath, I kept working as delivery driver because it was my only source of income.
With sick leave, I would not have tried to work when I was so very sick and possibly spreading the coronavirus. With sick leave, I would have stayed home. With sick leave, I may have recovered faster. I do not live paycheck to paycheck. I do not live day to day. I live order to order. If you consider the work I do as essential to your quality of life, I should be paid by the value of the vital resource I provide to you.”
- Carmen F., Seattle Grubhub worker
Covered grocery delivery platforms operating in Seattle include Instacart, Shipt, TaskRabbit, and Amazon Fresh. Covered restaurant delivery platforms include DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates, Caviar, and GrubHub.
“If these multi-billion-dollar delivery apps want to do business in Seattle, they’re going to have to pay up. The coronavirus pandemic has been a boom for Instacart, DoorDash and the rest of these companies, but the people who do the work are seeing low pay, high risk, and few safety protections. It’s about time essential delivery workers got hazard pay for their essential work during this crisis.”
- Rachel Lauter, Executive Director of Working WA (Pay Up campaign)
The COVID crisis has been a boom for the food delivery business. Instacart reported their first-ever profits in April, and announced in early May that they had already surpassed their 2022 goals. Last week, as they launched a campaign to mislead workers & customers into opposing hazard pay legislation, they received a new $225 million investment due to “an unprecedented surge in customer demand,” and is now valued at $14 billion. DoorDash revealed they are about to close a deal to secure $300 million from investors, increasing the company’s valuation to $15 billion as delivery demand rises due to the pandemic. Grubhub has merged with a European competitor in a $7.3 billion deal, creating one of the world’s largest delivery companies.
Gig companies are raking in cash during the crisis — but instead of passing on the profits to the workers who make their business possible, they continue to pay subminimum wages & even cut pay.
"I have two young children, a five-year-old and a 7-month-old. It’s very difficult to care for my family on the income from gig work — before the crisis, even on a good week, I couldn't even bring in $600. Now, the pay doesn't even outweigh the risk we’re taking on to do this work. Some of the companies I work for, like Grubhub, haven't even sent over any PPE. I'm living off of savings, which are dwindling, and we’ve put a stop to anything extra we want to do. Gig workers need hazard pay because we are on the front lines. Especially here in Seattle, our risk of exposure is incredibly high. Instacart boomed during this pandemic, but if gig workers have to quit working due to illness or risk, people wouldn't have groceries at their door."
- Vita H., Instacart/Postmates/DoorDash/Grubhub worker, Tacoma
That’s why these victories are so important. They show the public what workers leading the Pay Up campaign already know: the companies who depend on underpaying us will always come out in force against measures designed to protect us — but their threats won’t do them any good. Because workers, customers, and the public agree that multi-billion dollar companies have a responsibility to the shoppers & drivers who make their companies run.
And these innovative new laws show us that it’s possible to keep the movement growing. Seattle has stepped up as a leader for gig workers in this crisis. Now, it’s time for other cities & states to follow suit. And we need more than protections in an emergency — we need long-term economic security, so a public health crisis or personal emergency doesn’t push us over the edge. We need lawmakers to step up and hold gig companies accountable for paying instead of shifting the burden and risk onto workers.