“I don’t know how much Instacart drivers really make”

Jonathan Thompson is a customer on Instacart and Grubhub, and a member of the Transit Riders Union, a community organization based in Seattle. Here’s why he supports the #PayUp policy:

“I have chronic fatigue syndrome. I’m not able to work, I live on disability, and I have some support from my parents as well. It very much limits my ability to do things like grocery shopping—I just can’t grocery shop anymore. So I rely on Instacart for my groceries. Sometimes, I also get delivery from Grubhub or another app.

When I heard drivers organizing the PayUp campaign to try to get better pay for gig workers, I thought that was a great thing. I often wonder: are these workers paid enough? I don't know how much Instacart drivers really make. Instacart charges so little upfront for the service, and as a customer, I can’t tell how much of that Instacart workers take home. As a person who used to be a service industry worker, I have empathy for people doing this essential job. 

I always try to tip well, but I never know if it's enough. I just don't know. It would help me to understand that this driver is already making a living wage with what they're receiving from the company, and anything that I give them over that is actually extra. That would help my conscience. 

It just shouldn't be up to the goodwill of individual customers to make sure gig workers have a decent living wage. That should be up to the companies. I hear some people saying that this policy will hurt customers like me and drive away demand, and I can’t help but remember how we heard the same arguments before we raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Big business owners talked about how that was going to destroy them. But the economy was fine after we passed the $15/hour minimum wage in Seattle, even after owners were forced to pay workers more. So I think the PayUp policy is a much-needed way to transfer wealth from wealthy companies to people who actually need it. And I think overall that it would be a benefit for all of us.”