Seattle just took a big step towards expanding minimum wage protections. Last week, City Council voted unanimously to pass the Fare Share plan, which ensures that Uber and Lyft drivers earn minimum wage after expenses for their time spent working on the ridehail apps. Yesterday, the Mayor signed the bill into law.
It’s an important step forward that partially closes a major loophole in our labor laws. But even after Fare Share takes effect and requires higher pay for Uber and Lyft drivers, more than 40,000 food delivery and other gig workers who are doing essential work during this pandemic will still be excluded from Seattle’s most basic labor protections. There’s no permanent pay standard for these workers, and so companies like DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates continue to get away with paying whatever they can get away with.
In a time of wrenching economic change and extreme income inequality, City Council needs to move quickly to prevent companies from driving pay even lower for essential workers risking their health during a pandemic. Thousands of recently unemployed workers are turning to gig work as one of the few sources of income still available, and nobody should have to work a sub-minimum wage job to survive.
Business is booming during the pandemic for big gig platforms like DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates. The companies are bringing on hundreds of thousands of new workers nationally, expanding corporate partnerships, and reporting record levels of business.
Meanwhile, workers on these apps are paid well below minimum wage after expenses — our analysis has found average pay as low as $7.66/hour on Instacart, and $1.45/hour on DoorDash. All workers should earn a living wage, which is why we need swift government action to address the appalling low pay on these apps.
The power of our movement continues to grow — and each step along the way, gig companies are being forced to pay up. In June, Seattle gig workers with the Pay Up campaign won first-in-the-nation hazard pay and sick leave protections during the coronavirus emergency. Now, Uber and Lyft drivers have won a permanent pay standard.
Up next: the rest of the gig economy.
Make sure that Seattle city leaders hear from you: everyone who works in the gig economy must be paid at least minimum wage after expenses, with tips on top, and pay transparency.