New Minimum Wage Push For Gig Workers Takes Shape In Seattle

SEATTLE, WA — Flexibility was what lured Kimberly Wolfe into the gig economy. In 2015, Wolfe, a Seattle native, was working full-time while training in investing, with hopes to start her own real estate business. She was intrigued by the prospect of setting her own hours as a Lyft driver, so she signed up.

“That’s the first siren song for all these gigs — it’s flexibility,” she told Patch.

But five years and two gig jobs later, Wolfe, 55, is homeless and living in an encampment in the city. (She preferred not to reveal the exact location.) Declining pay and a wreck that totaled her car, she says, left her unable to afford rent, even as she continues working for the delivery app Caviar.

It was Wolfe’s rocky experience as a gig worker that pushed her to join a new campaign by the advocacy group Working Washington to make Seattle the first U.S. city to require a minimum wage for its gig workers — a group numbering in the tens of thousands, according to a 2016 study by the city.

Backers of the campaign have reason to think it will find footing in Seattle. Last year, the city extended its minimum wage guarantee to Uber and Lyft drivers through a “Fare Share” program that imposed a new tax on ride-shares, with promises to guarantee a minimum wage for drivers by July 2020.

But other Seattle gig workers are considered independent contractors, making them ineligible for the city’s $16.39-an-hour minimum wage for large employers. That includes food delivery workers and drivers for Amazon Flex: Amazon’s delivery system staffed by gig workers using their own cars.

The “Pay Up” campaign will kick off at a rally Wednesday, where Working Washington will call for a minimum wage of $15 per hour plus expenses for gig workers, a guarantee that tips won’t be taken out of workers' salaries — a former DoorDash policy that received widespread criticism — and a requirement that companies disclose how they set their pay rates.

That call for transparency is key for Wolfe, who said she never got a clear explanation for why her pay decreased by about 20 percent in the five years she drove for Lyft. (Drivers across the country have complained about similar pay drops.)

“I was never really able to launch because I was working too hard to meet basic expenses,“ Wolfe said, adding that she never made more than $25,000 per year. “They hide behind their algorithms, this talk of proprietary information. You’ve got to know what’s happening if you want to ask for what’s fair.”

Last year, Patch found that Uber, Amazon, Lyft and DoorDash employed a combined 4,369 workers on food stamps in Washington state.

Lyft declined to comment for this article. Grubhub, Postmates and Instacart have not responded to requests for comment.

In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Amelia McLear said its Flex drivers earn more than $25 on average in the Seattle area, and that the company is "proud to offer $15 an hour" to its employees nationwide.

DoorDash, which owns Caviar, said in a statement that its workers are given the chance to see how much they'll earn for a delivery before they accept it.

An Uber spokesperson said the company supports a minimum wage standard for rideshare drivers "that also protects worker flexibility and independence.” (The company has proposed a $21 minimum wage for its drivers, but fought hard against a California law passed last year that classifies its drivers as employees, not contractors.)

“Still wobbling”

Wolfe’s situation, already precarious, was upended when she totaled her car at the end of 2015. She gave up her Ford Focus for an old Buick that got only 20 miles to the gallon, forcing her to work longer hours while spending more on gas, since her employer didn’t cover expenses.

"At the end of [2018], I looked at my budget and concluded: if I was going to meet any of my goals, I had to not pay rent," she said. "That’s when I decided I’m going to have to go homeless."

Just over a year later, Wolfe now has a full-time job in addition to her Caviar deliveries, having given up Lyft this year. Once she gets three months’ rent saved, she’ll start looking for housing again.

“Then I’ll be on my feet, instead of still wobbling,” she said.

Working Washington has already spoken with most members of the City Council as well as Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office, spokesman Sage Wilson said, and the group expects elected officials to support the Pay Up campaign — although companies may oppose it.

"I’m grateful to Working Washington for their commitment to fighting for the rights and dignities of our gig workers," Durkan told Patch in a statement, also given to the Seattle Times. "I believe that gig workers should earn the minimum wage plus expenses, and have access to worker protections that would be standard in more traditional industries."

Durkan said the city's wage study on Uber and Lyft drivers, due sometime this spring, will help the city decide on broader protections for gig workers.

Wolfe, too, thinks Seattle will be receptive to the campaign — and she’s already setting her sights beyond the city.

“Once it is shown [in Seattle], it’ll be the state level,” she said. “We’re moving forward on it whether they like it or not.”

Related coverage:

• Puget Sound Gig Workers Rally For Better Pay: Photos
• In Washington, 50 Companies Employ 37,500 Workers On Food Stamps