DoorDash's big announcement: "We're still taking workers' tips!"
On Thursday, June 27, DoorDash finally responded to thousands of DoorDash workers who have been organizing and speaking out about tip theft and low pay. They announced a “new” pay system intended to “improve the Dasher experience.”
But their announcement basically amounted to…saying that they’re sticking with the same exploitative pay model they’ve been using for years: using customers’ tips to subsidize workers’ pay so DoorDash can get away with paying as little as $1 per job.
(Or as Gizmodo put it: DoorDash is telling workers “we’ll screw you over to your face now.”)
That’s right — the more you tip in-app on DoorDash, the less DoorDash pays the worker.
It’s a sneaky form of tip theft. It’s misleading to customers and harmful to workers.
The good news? DoorDash is finally being more transparent with workers about how much they’re really paying and how much is just the customer’s tip. For the first time, DoorDash workers now see a breakdown of each delivery that shows the amount of the tip and the amount DoorDash paid.
So now, it’s clearer than ever to workers — and customers — exactly what DoorDash is doing.
DoorDash’s announcement claims the feedback they’ve gotten from workers has been “humbling.” But sticking to a pay model that exploits workers by stealing their tips — and one that’s unpopular with customers and workers alike — doesn’t seem very humble.
Thousands of DoorDash workers with the Pay Up campaign have been incredibly clear about what they want to see: an end to tip theft and a commitment to a pay floor of $15/hr plus the cost of expenses.
And customers have spoken out too — because no customer tips a driver with the belief that their tip is going to a $12 billion company’s bottom line.
So what can we do?
Spread the word. Click here to share this post on Twitter and here to share it on Facebook.
And click here to print flyers and help make DoorDash customers aware of what the company is doing.If you’re a DoorDash customer, ALWAYS tip in cash so DoorDash can’t steal your tip to pay workers.
If you’re a DoorDash worker, help us continue the fight for new laws to create outside accountability for companies like DoorDash. We’re calling for new laws that would create a pay floor of at least $15/hr plus the cost of expenses, require companies to pay tips on top, and require transparency about what you’re getting paid and why. Click here to join us at our next National Online #PayUp Meeting to talk about next steps.
Gig companies like DoorDash are always looking for innovative ways to avoid just paying their workers. But their announcement makes it clear that they know they can’t get away with this for long.