A group called the Gig Workers Collective is calling for a nationwide walk-out Monday. They've been asking Instacart to provide workers with hazard pay and protective gear, among other demands. Instacart said Sunday it would soon provide workers with a new hand sanitizer upon request and outlined changes to its tip system. The group said the measures were too little too late.
While some workers say they intend to join the strike for at least a day — or have stopped filling orders already for fear of getting the virus — other, newer workers are content to have a paying job at a time of mass layoffs in other industries.
The
Instacart currently has a workforce of more than 200,000 contracted workers who make multiple trips a day to various grocery stores to fulfill and deliver orders that customers make through the app. It also directly employs about 20,000 part-time workers who are assigned to a single store, collecting groceries that are subsequently delivered to clients by a contracted Instacart worker.
Chloe Grozdina, a part-time Instacart in-store shopper assigned to a Mariano's grocery store in the
Grozdina, who makes
Among their demands, the strike organizers want hazard pay of
Data show online grocery orders jumping even before some cities and states imposed “stay at home” orders. During the week of
Instacart has started offering bonuses of between
Instacart also announced a month-long extension of a temporary policy giving 14 days of paid leave to workers who are diagnosed with coronavirus, or have been ordered to isolate themselves. The strike organizers that policy extended to workers with a doctor's note verifying a pre-existing condition that could make them more vulnerable to the virus.
They also demanded that Intacart raise the tip default in its app to 10% from the current 5%. Instead, Instacart announced Sunday it would change the default to the amount the customer last tipped, saying tips have increased considerably during the virus crisis.
Instacart said previously that it has added more “promotions" — or extra pay for contracted full-service shoppers to accept certain orders.
That was not enough to lure back
“They need to give us hazard pay right now and it should be guaranteed," said Foster, of
Other companies such as
While such low-wage jobs put people on the front lines of the pandemic, many people are applying as layoffs surge in retail, restaurant, hospitality and other industries.
“I’m grateful to have some way to make money,” Cooper said.
An
“It’s amazing that they are doing this. I’m grateful. I’m hopeful they are able to take care of their families through this,” said Ellwood of
Anderson reported from
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