Workers on apps like DoorDash, Instacart, and Uber Eats already live on absurdly low pay — and now, gig workers in Seattle have seen their pay cut in half overnight.
As gig workers with the PayUp campaign, we fought for a pay bump in 2020 in the form of emergency “hazard pay.” With the Mayor officially declaring the end of the COVID emergency period on Oct. 31, 2022, gig companies are no longer required to pay that extra $2.50 per job. Now, we’re left with base pay as low as $2 per job.
The official COVID emergency period may have ended, but for gig workers, this change is a crisis of its own. We’re facing extreme financial instability, and even with hazard pay we’ve found ourselves unable to pay our bills. For many of us, losing hazard pay means having to put in 70-80 hours of work a week, facing homelessness, or going without essential medical care. Workers fought hard to win a permanent pay standard that will go into effect at the end of 2023. But the reality is that until it’s implemented, ending hazard pay means a huge pay cut with no accountability for gig companies. And for workers outside of Seattle, pay has always been far too low.
With pay as low as $2 per job, we’re forced to rely on tips to get by. In fact, some jobs pay even less than the cost of mileage to complete the job — which is skyrocketing. Companies like DoorDash and Uber Eats have reduced transparency on orders and use tricks to get workers to accept jobs that aren’t worth it, like “stacking” orders so when we accept a single delivery we’re forced to do two or three.
Workers can't live on $2 an order... especially because we cover all of our own expenses, including mileage. Our pay study earlier this year showed that Seattle gig workers are making just $9.58/hour after accounting for basic expenses — about half of Seattle’s minimum wage.
To add insult to injury, gig companies are pushing a narrative that losing hazard pay will somehow be good for workers. Uber Eats sent a notification to workers claiming that without the additional $2.50 per job, “we anticipate an increase of orders which could lead to more offers for you.” Translation: you get to do more work for less money.
Let’s show the city, and the gig apps, that workers and customers won’t stand for pay being cut in half. Workers need the security of higher base pay until the permanent PayUp pay standard goes into effect, and customers need to know that their money is going to the people who actually do the work — not lining the pockets of multi-billion dollar corporations. That’s why workers are rejecting all delivery offers below $5, and customers are speaking out in support of workers. We’re standing together to demand that delivery companies raise their base pay to prevent pay cuts.