From today’s The Stranger:
Hey Instacart shoppers,
You might have noticed that you got something extra from the app recently–some misinformation from the company asking you to contact city council members. The real story is that they are hoping to use you to undermine new laws Seattle passed to protect their workers. Let me explain.
It’s been a banner couple of months for Instacart. The megacorporation went public with a $10 billion valuation, netting its CEO more than $15 million. At the same time, they announced they were cutting their workers’ base pay nearly in half. Now, they’re spreading misinformation and coming after PayUp, Seattle’s new worker protection laws.
They’re focusing their ire on us because Seattle is leading the nation in passing labor protections for app-based workers. Last year, I sponsored first-of-its-kind legislation that will guarantee app-based workers a minimum wage. Then this year, we passed laws guaranteeing paid sick and safe time and protecting workers from being unfairly terminated.
Other cities have taken note. New York City followed our lead in June and passed an app-based worker minimum wage law. Seattle is paving the way for the next generation of workers rights laws.
Unsurprisingly, the corporations who have made billions off underpaid labor want to put an end to it. They have failed to stop us through the courts, and now they are coming after our ability to enforce our laws.
Read the complete story here.