kicking things off in Seattle

On Wednesday, March 4, nearly 100 gig workers, customers, and allies came together in Seattle to kick off our local campaign to win new laws for gig workers!

This is a crucial moment for our campaign — and it really shows how far we've come.

It's been just a year since we launched #PayUp as a national campaign. We've had some big wins — like getting Instacart and DoorDash to change their sneaky tip-theft policies. But our long-term goal has always been winning new laws to create outside accountability for these companies.

And thanks to the power workers have built over the last year, we're on the path to getting those laws passed here in Seattle this year.

We've built a strong movement of gig workers in WA, connected with City Council members to champion our policies, and now we've kicked off our Seattle campaign — getting us the attention from media & support from lawmakers we need to move these policies forward.

Worker leaders Mariah, Jason, Phoenix, Mary, and Wolfgang led the conversation at our kickoff on Wednesday. They explained how their apps — from Instacart to Postmates to Wag — have exploited workers by paying far too little & shifting costs onto workers. They broke down just how low their pay comes out to after factoring in expenses. They explained why gig workers need laws to protect our pay now.

And then they announced our three #PayUp policy demands to our audience: a pay floor for every job of at least $16.39/hr + the cost of expenses, tips on top, and transparency about what we're getting paid & why.

These new laws have the power to transform how the gig economy works for workers. As Mariah said: "Getting these policies in place would mean being able to provide for my family — I'm working full-time and giving my job my all, and I deserve to be paid."

Check out the livestream here if you couldn't make it.

Can't wait for what's coming next — stay tuned!