As we get closer to passing our PayUp policy in Seattle, gig companies and their allies are ramping up their opposition with a pretty shady tactic: they’re claiming that it’s somehow “equitable” to pay subminimum wages to workers of color.
But Seattle gig workers aren’t falling for it.
Workers just released an open letter that debunks these ridiculous gig company claims and shows how we can ensure true equity: by passing the PayUp policy to end subminimum wages for tens of thousands of gig workers.
Dear Seattle City Council,
We are gig workers on apps like DoorDash, Instacart, Uber Eats, and Handy. We are people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and working-class people from all walks of life. Thousands of workers like us have been fighting since 2019 to end subminimum wages in the gig economy here in Seattle, and protect flexibility and transparency. We’re fighting for the PayUp policy because all workers need dignified wages to thrive and live a happy life.
For decades, US labor laws have included loopholes that disproportionately exclude workers of color, like farmworkers and domestic workers. Gig work is a repackaging of this same historical inequity, and it’s growing fast: 16% of US adults have done gig work, including 20% of Black adults and 30% of Latino adults.
Now that City Council has introduced PayUp, gig companies are arguing that it’s somehow “equitable” to allow them to continue paying subminimum wages to Black, Brown, and immigrant workers. Instead of paying us — the driving force of the entire gig economy — apps spend millions lobbying and even recruiting organizations like Seattle Latino Chamber of Commerce and Urban League to disguise their corporate rhetoric as anti-racism. They know Seattle cares about marginalized communities — so they’re using marginalized people as talking points [Click here to continue reading]...
Read the full open letter here — and then help spread the word by sharing it on Facebook and Twitter.
We can’t let companies get away with twisting “equity” around into something that somehow allows them to keep paying subminimum wages. It’s time to pass #PayUp.