Seattle, WA

Uber, Doordash, and other gig workers in Seattle may be about to face a pay reckoning

Published

2 years ago

May 9, 2024

Uber, Doordash, and other gig workers in Seattle may be about to face a pay reckoning

Since January, gig delivery workers in Seattle have been reaping the benefits of a local law mandating a certain pay level. Just months later, they could see their incomes cut under proposed revisions.

PayUp, which took effect in the city in January, requires DoorDash, Uber, Instacart, Grubhub, and other delivery apps to pay independent contractors the equivalent of the city’s $19.97 minimum wage — a rule that the app companies have opposed.

But CB 120775, a proposal introduced last month by Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson, would lower the minimum pay for drivers and roll back protections for workers, according to a draft of the legislation.

Under the proposal, gig workers would be paid an hourly rate of $19.97 for their time spent retrieving and delivering orders. While that seems consistent with Seattle’s minimum wage for employees, the gig workers covered by the PayUp law are only paid for “active time” spent working on orders — meaning that time spent trying to claim an order is uncompensated. They’re also responsible for their own costs, such as gas.

Those aspects of the job had led Seattle’s city council to create a system that pays workers based on the miles they drive and the minutes they spend on the job. PayUp also demands that no offer pays less than $5.

The latest proposal would do away with that $5 minimum and the per-minute payment. Instead, gig workers would get paid 35 cents per mile — down from the current 74 cents.

It would also eliminate or cut back other protections for gig workers in the city. For example, a PayUp rule giving workers two minutes to review an order before accepting it would shrink to 45 seconds.

The bill is scheduled for a committee vote on Thursday. If it passes, the proposal could face a vote by the full Council on May 21.

‘That makes a difference’

If that vote passes, the bill will result in a significant pay cut for gig workers, according to estimates released Monday by Working Washington, a group that advocated for PayUp. For example, a gig worker who spent five hours of active time and drove 32 miles would make $15.81 an hour — below the city’s minimum wage — after accounting for expenses, they calculated.

Hourly pay would be even lower — $13.17 — after accounting for the time that a gig worker would likely spend on the apps just to find and claim orders, according to the study.

Justin Taylor, who has delivered and driven for multiple apps in Seattle over the last four years, said his pay has increased by $100 a week on average since PayUp went into effect — even though he’s delivering fewer orders than he did before the law.

“That makes a difference,” he told BI. “It allowed me to do things like install new front brakes on my car.”

If the proposal before Seattle’s City Council becomes law, Taylor said, he’ll once again be reliant on customers’ tips to cover his expenses and make money working for services like DoorDash.

The delivery companies have made it clear that they oppose the changes that took effect in January. In emails and calls to action sent to gig workers, DoorDash, Instacart, Uber, and others have claimed that there are fewer orders for gig workers to claim.

Some shoppers for Instacart have also had to drive miles out of their way to deliver orders in Seattle’s suburbs as the company routed them to stores outside city limits.

Seattle City Council President Nelson did not respond to a request for an interview from Business Insider. In a hearing on the bill on April 25, Nelson said that she had worked with some of the delivery companies as well as Drive Forward, a group whose leadership includes multiple current and former employees for Uber and DoorDash, to draft the bill.

“I want to make sure that people realize this was an agreement that was forged between Drive Forward and the network companies,” she told the Council.

A DoorDash spokesperson told BI: “Predictably, Working Washington’s opposition to this proposal is not rooted in reality. The proposed law guarantees Dashers will earn nearly $20 per hour on delivery in addition to mileage and tips. We’re grateful that Council President Nelson and Drive Forward were able to reconvene stakeholders and reach a compromise that better serves Dashers, local businesses, and consumers in Seattle.”

A spokesperson for Instacart said the company “supports the pragmatic approach being taken by the new Seattle City Council as they balance the needs of workers, customers, and businesses across the city and reform the current version of PayUp legislation.”

“Uber supports the complete package, and believes it will go a long way to ease the operational burdens and costs experienced by customers throughout Seattle and reduce delivery times,” a spokesperson told BI.

But gig worker Taylor said he was dismayed that the delivery companies have had such a direct role in developing the bill that would replace PayUp.

“To me, it’s basically saying we’re allowing lobbyists to write our laws,” Taylor said.

Do you deliver food, groceries, or other items as a gig worker and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com

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Seattle, WA

Kraken Extend Streak In Comeback OT Loss | Seattle Kraken

Published

6 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Kraken Extend Streak In Comeback OT Loss | Seattle Kraken

And while Dunn’s head coach insisted afterwards he doesn’t believe in “measuring stick games” the Kraken measured up fairly well in this one considering they played a pretty poor first period and needed half of the second frame to get any type of offense going against the league’s No. 2 defensive unit.

But they eventually got it going and the salvaged point, as Dunn mentioned, was huge in that it allowed the Kraken to remain in third place in the Pacific Division – just two points behind leaders Vegas and Edmonton – as they now embark on a five-city road trip. They extended their points streak to 10 games in the process, going 8-0-2 that stretch to transform a season hinging on the brink.

Mats Zuccarello got the overtime winner for Minnesota, converting a Kirill Kaprizov pass off a 2-on-1 break after the Kraken had been foiled just moments prior on their own odd-man rush. That foiled an outstanding night for Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer, who’d made several huge stops in both overtime and the third period to keep things tied, as well as prior to that frame to give his team the shot at a comeback.

The Kraken had spent the past week filling opposition nets with pucks but waited until the final 17 minutes to score their first goal of this game. By that point, they’d been trailing 2-0 since a pair of 42-foot wrist shot goals by Ryan Hartman and Brock Faber in the first period silenced the home crowd.

“The first period was awful, and our execution was probably the biggest part of that,” Dunn said. “It’s just tough when you’re chasing the game a little bit to start the game. So, we kind of set ourselves up for the second period to come out and play the right way and I thought as the game went on, we got a lot better.

“And I thought it was a pretty competitive game both ways. A lot of chances both ways.”

Grubauer kept things close from there, stopping 31 of 34 shots on the night to give his team a chance to get back in it.

Adam Larsson then got the Kraken on the board three minutes into the final period with a slap shot goal from the right circle after Dunn had rung one off the post on a prior blast seconds earlier. And the Kraken weren’t done yet.

The Wild ran into penalty trouble not long after and the Kraken capitalized on the power play with Matty Beniers banging home a net front rebound off a Jared McCann shot that lifted the home side into a 2-2 tie and sent the Climate Pledge Arena crowd into a frenzy.

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Seattle, WA

Valter Walker vs. Marcin Tybura booked for UFC Seattle

Published

18 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Valter Walker vs. Marcin Tybura booked for UFC Seattle

Heavyweights will collide in “Rain City.”

MMAmania.com confirmed with multiple sources today (Thurs., Jan. 8, 2026) that No. 10-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Marcin Tybura will take on surging Brazilian prospect Valter Walker at UFC Seattle on Sat., March 28, 2026, inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.

Walker (15-1) stumbled out of the gate in his UFC debut, suffering a loss to Lukasz Brzeski in 2024. Since then, however, “Clean Monster” has completely rewritten the narrative — and the UFC record books.

Walker opened 2025 by submitting Don’Tale Mayes with a heel hook (watch highlights), his second straight victory via the technique. Five months later, he followed it up with another first-round heel hook against Kennedy Nzechukwu (watch highlights), setting a new UFC record for most consecutive heel hook submission wins with three.

But he wasn’t finished.

At UFC 321 in Oct. 2025, Walker once again locked in a first-round heel hook — this time against Louie Sutherland — tying Rousimar Palhares for the most heel hook submissions (four) in UFC history while extending his own record for consecutive heel hook finishes (watch it).

A win in Seattle would almost certainly vault Walker into the Top 10 of the Heavyweight rankings.

Tybura (27-10), meanwhile, will be defending his No. 10 spot when he steps into the cage. The Polish veteran went 1-1 in 2025, handing highly touted U.K. prospect Mick Parkin his first professional loss at UFC London before suffering a quick knockout loss to debuting Ante Delija at UFC Paris (watch highlights), snapping a two-fight win streak.

Now 40 years old, Tybura is 5-3 over his last eight appearances.

Here are some other bouts currently scheduled for UFC Seattle:

Casey O’Neill vs. Gabriella Fernandes

Alexa Grasso vs. Maycee Barber

Nicolle Caliari vs. Carol Fiori

To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.

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Seattle, WA

Around 200 protest fatal ICE shooting in front of Seattle’s federal building

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Around 200 protest fatal ICE shooting in front of Seattle’s federal building

SEATTLE, Wash. – There were at least 200 protesters that showed up in Seattle Wednesday night in what speakers called an “emergency protest” in response to the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis Wednesday.

“We want justice, we want peace, we want justice, we want peace, we want ICE off our streets, we want ice off our streets…” they chanted.

Seattle protest on fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

Seattle protesters outside the Federal Building following a fatal shooting by ICE agents in Minneapolis. (FOX 13 Seattle)

After listening to speakers, protesters went on the march and circled the blocks near the Federal Building in Seattle.

Though the protest was organized on short notice, some protesters say they were compelled to come out Wednesday with urgency because they felt what happened in Minneapolis was a bridge too far.

What they’re saying:

“ICE has gone too far. We’ve felt this, we’ve known this for a long time. There have been people protesting,” said Raleigh Watts, protesting the ICE shooting. “We’ve been hearing the news. Today I came out because when I heard, it was my sign that a line has been crossed that I can’t stand anymore. So, I’ve come to say, ‘No ICE, you’ve gone too far’.”

“A lot of people out here are really, really angry, confused and sad, but I think we have what it takes to fight back,” said Sophia Van Beek, protesting the MN ICE shooting. “I’m certain there are going to be actions.”

Sophia says in order to make a difference, protesters need to create an actionable political program.

Seattle protest on fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

Members of law enforcement were in the area and helped to block off the streets during the protest and march. There were no clashes during this protest and it wrapped up at around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

“I am proud of all the hundreds of people who have turned out tonight at the federal building in Seattle. I’m proud of the people who are in Tacoma that are protesting at the ice detention center and in Minneapolis and in cities across the country. This is not okay for ICE to kill somebody,” said Watts.

What’s next:

Some people at Wednesday’s demonstration said they were planning to organize more protests in the coming weeks.

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The Source: Information in this story came from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.

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