Postmates: Time to Pay Up.

UPDATE: More than 2000 Postmates workers have signed on to this petition to tell Postmates to pay up — so we’re holding a Blitz Up: a day of action where Postmates workers refuse jobs unless they’re in blitz/bonus mode. If you’re a Postmates worker, click here to join the Blitz Up!

Following in the footsteps of other apps, food delivery app Postmates just “updated” their pay structure — cutting pay for workers by up to 30%.

Before the change, Postmates paid workers a base rate per job, plus a per-minute rate for wait time and a per-mile rate for miles driven between the restaurant and the customer. If that didn’t add up to a “minimum guarantee” of at least $4 per job, Postmates had to make up the difference.

And overnight, they’ve rolled out a new pay model that cuts base rates and per-mile rates in most cities — oh, and they’ve gotten rid of that “guaranteed minimum” per job too.

That minimum was already low — $4 per delivery isn’t much when you have to cover all your own expenses. So the fact that Postmates is getting rid of it tells us their new pay model is all about going lower than low.

Under this new pay system, here’s what one delivery in California looks like.

This job from Postmates courier Melissa took about 30 minutes from start to finish — and she drove three miles in total, from her location to the restaurant and then to the customer. After backing out her mileage expenses and additional payroll taxes she covers as an independent contractor, her pay came out to just $5.29/hour.

That isn't OK. No matter what kind of work we do, and no matter how we're classified, we shouldn't be taking home pay that's far below the minimum wage.

Postmates is worth nearly $2 billion. They can afford to pay workers more than $4 per job — but as they prepare to go public and continue their race to the bottom against companies like DoorDash and UberEats, they’re cutting our pay even as our costs increase. They’re using sneaky language to try to trick workers into thinking these changes are good for us — saying they’re trying to make pay “clear, consistent, and easy to understand”…and that “the new [lower] rates remove the need for a minimum guarantee.”

Of course, workers know that when Postmates is paying subminimum wages, we do need a guarantee.

So we’re fighting back and demanding that Postmates create a new, transparent pay structure with a guarantee that comes out to at least the equivalent of $15/hr plus the cost of our expenses.

Postmates workers: Sign on below, and we’ll be in touch to talk about the next steps in organizing to make Postmates pay up.

Customers and supporters: Sign on to show your support, and then share this page on Facebook and Twitter.