We don’t have sick days, but I’m limiting to two or three shops per day to limit exposure.
I’m over 60 and my normal oxygen intake is 94%, which is on the low end of normal range — so I’m in the high-risk category. We don’t have sick days, but I’m limiting to two or three shops on Instacart per day to limit exposure. DoorDash is out of the question for me right now because of how crowded it gets at pickup. My biggest concern is that I need to be sure my rent, car payment, and medical insurance are paid.
- Lee, instacart shopper/doordash driver
I can’t move with no hours.
My lease is up and if my landlord won’t renew, I don’t know what to do. I can’t move with no hours, and what if movement is heavily restricted? I couldn’t move to a new place even if I wanted to then.
- Olivia, retail/gig worker
I’m on immune-suppressing drugs, and every contact I make increases my risk — but I don’t have the option of not working, even if I get sick.
I’ve been seeing a decrease in demand and lower tips on Instacart — people are worried about the virus, so they don’t want to spend money on deliveries or tips. Between the decrease in orders and some recent changes Instacart has made to lower pay, I have had to start with Grubhub. That means I’m in contact with more customers throughout the day.
I am disabled and in a higher risk group to get the virus. I’m on immune-suppressing drugs, and every contact I make increases my risk — but I don’t have the option of not working, even if I get sick, if I want to keep my house and support my family.
- Shay, Instacart shopper/Grubhub driver
I’ve had jobs cancel due to lack of people traveling or leaving the house, or working from home.
I work full-time and two part-time jobs. One part-time job is dog-sitting and animal care. I’ve had jobs cancel due to lack of people traveling or leaving the house, or working from home. In the event that my full-time job closes (non-essential staff at a treatment facility), we do not get paid. I don’t know what I would do, get my car repossessed and lose my apartment and get behind on my medical and dental bills, tank my credit again and not eat?
- Jillian, treatment facility worker/animal sitter
I may have had and spread coronavirus. How many other gig workers may have and be spreading the virus?
I believe I have already been sick with coronavirus. I went to the ER with extreme flu-like symptoms, coughing and gasping for breath with a fever of 103. I was unable to get tested, and I was sick for most of February. Although extremely weak, constantly coughing, and having trouble taking a full breath, I kept making deliveries.
This is my only source of income. While sick, I missed a few days and was only able to work about half of my shifts. I am feeling better, but still not good. I lost a lot of income while sick. I’m behind on everything — rent, electric bill, phone bill — and I don’t know how I will recover. I may have had and spread coronavirus. How many other gig workers may have and be spreading the virus?
- Carmen, Postmates/DoorDash/Grubhub driver
I filed for temporary unemployment benefits, but for now I don’t have any reliable source of income.
I work for a catering company and I’ve been called off work for the past week already and don’t have the sick time for this. Still holding out some hope that I’ll get some hours over the weekend, but it’s not looking good. I was already stretched thin financially due to having to take some unexpected time off to help my mom who lives in Portland. I work on TaskRabbit too, but not getting much in the way of job offers there. I filed for temporary unemployment benefits, but for now I don’t have any reliable source of income.
- Corrie, caterer/gig worker
I can’t get tested. If I tested positive, I would be quarantined for two weeks after my symptoms disappear — I can’t afford that.
I’m home sick right now with all the symptoms of coronavirus. I didn’t panic, I was careful, but I did over a hundred deliveries on Postmates last week because I needed the money — that’s probably where I got sick. I had to stop working on Friday because I got a fever. I probably should have stopped sooner, but I just paid my rent and my bank account was overdrawn. So I decided to keep working. I told myself, there’s no way I have coronavirus.
Now, I’m pretty sure I’ve got it — but I can’t get tested. If I tested positive, I would be quarantined for two weeks after my symptoms disappear — I can’t afford that. I’m sure I’m not the only one in that position. I have a family to feed, and my wife had to stop working a few weeks ago because she’s about to have a baby.
I have a bad cough and a fever. It’s not going away, and I can’t leave the house. Financially, it’s going to be devastating. I regularly work seven days a week and I’m usually overdrawn after my landlord cashes the check. And I think it’s extremely contagious — I hope I didn’t infect anyone.
- Chris, DoorDash/Postmates driver
Consistency of my work is crucial to maintain my level of income.
Right now, I’m seeing more and higher-paying batches on Instacart as people order more food. But I’m concerned about availability of gigs going down, since demand can shift at any time. Consistency of my work is crucial to maintain my level of income.
- Bettina, Instacart shopper
At this point, an eviction is a death sentence.
I’m primarily a freelance worker, though I also do an online-based gig, video captioning. I lost a major freelance gig — 60% of my income — right before coronavirus really broke in WA. Now, I’m semi-quarantined because I’m in a higher risk group. Applying for jobs to replace that income is out of the question for me, and I expect it to be hard to find replacement clients for remote freelance work, because of the downturn caused by coronavirus (fewer freelance projects out there) and a flood of confined workers eager for remote work during the crisis.
Income replacement and an eviction moratorium are important to me. At this point, an eviction is a death sentence. It already is that, to everyone — or at least a severe form of social exclusion that puts people’s lives at risk. But a coronavirus-related downturn could push me there, and there’s no way to care for myself when I’m sick.
- D, freelancer/gig worker
The uncertainty is terrible. We don’t know how long and how serious this will be.
Rideshare has been down a lot. I feel lucky now to make half of what I usually make. Thank God I have some savings I can use now, but if this happened a few years ago, I would be in big trouble paying rent, all other bills, and food. It’s so messed up. The uncertainty is terrible. We don’t know how long and how serious this will be.
- Moe, Uber driver
30% of the orders we’re getting are for items that are out of stock, so we have to spend half an hour on the phone with support to get the order cancelled before we can get a new one.
I’ve been working on Instacart and DoorDash for the last year, in addition to my job as a nanny. We’re really putting our lives out there on the line, shopping and delivering to customers — I’m worried about getting sick, so I’ve spend my own money on hand sanitizer, gloves, and other protective measures. Luckily, Instacart has been incredibly busy for me since the crisis hit — last week was my highest-paying week so far. But 30% of the orders we’re getting are for items that are out of stock, so we have to spend half an hour on the phone with support to get the order cancelled before we can get a new one. That means I’m spending hours of unpaid wait time on the phone — and I also lose any tips that came with that order, which I really depend on because the base pay is so low.