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

Walker’s big night an encouraging sign for Seattle Seahawks

Published

6 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Walker’s big night an encouraging sign for Seattle Seahawks

It got somewhat lost amid all the late-game drama, but Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III just had one of the best games of his four-year career.

The anatomy of a comeback: How Seahawks stunned the Rams

Highlighted by a pair of explosive plays, Walker totaled 164 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in Seattle’s wild 38-37 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. It was the second-most scrimmage yards of Walker’s career, just shy of his 167 scrimmage yards against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7 of his 2022 rookie campaign.

Walker rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries against the Rams’ stout defense, including a 55-yard TD run early in the third quarter where he burst through a crease and hit a top speed of 21.07 mph while racing downfield, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats. He also added three catches for 64 yards, including a 46-yard gain on a throwback screen pass that set up a first-quarter TD.

KENNETH WALKER III 55-YARD TD RUN 🚨
LARvsSEA on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/4ezXS8hbok
— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2025

In doing so, Walker became the first NFL running back since five-time Pro Bowler Derrick Henry in 2020 to have both a 45-plus-yard run and a 45-plus-yard catch in the same game, according to NFL Media senior researcher Dante Koplowitz-Fleming.

Walker’s two big plays against the Rams were also among the six longest plays of his career. He had five gains of 40-plus yards over his first two NFL seasons, but none over the past two seasons until Thursday night.

During Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Friday, Mike Salk praised both Walker and Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

“Best and hardest I’ve seen him run in forever,” Salk said. “Most decisive, most he’s hit holes hard, picked up extra yards. Credit to Kubiak for getting him the ball in space and allowing him to really do the things that he does well.”

Kenneth Walker III all the way down inside the 10!
LARvsSEA on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/YjVCQMxByg
— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2025

Led by Walker’s performance, the Seahawks finished with 171 rushing yards and a season-high 6.8 yards per carry on Thursday night. Even more encouraging was that it came against a strong Rams run defense, which entered the game ranked eighth in the NFL at just 3.9 yards allowed per carry.

The Seahawks have struggled for much of the season to get their run game untracked – including this past Sunday, when they mustered just 50 rushing yards and 2.3 yards per carry in a low-scoring Week 15 win over Indianapolis Colts.

But prior to that, Seattle had made some strides on the ground, averaging 140.2 rushing yards per game and 4.4 yards per carry from Weeks 10-14.

Walker’s showing on Thursday night was another positive step.

“He was a major factor,” Salk said. “Ran for 100 yards in the game. They ran for over 170 as a team, which kind of gets lost in a lot of the other storylines of the game. A huge credit to Ken Walker. … That’s the best I’ve seen him play in forever.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation at this link or in the video player at the top of this story. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Where Seattle Seahawks’ No. 1 seed odds stand after epic win
• Seattle Seahawks Injury Updates: Status of trio of DBs
• Seahawks’ Derick Hall suspended 1 game for stepping on player
• Brock Huard: The reason Darnold was able to lead Seahawks over Rams
• Macdonald explains Seattle Seahawks’ game-winning 2-point decision

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Seattle, WA

Seattle Kraken beat San Jose Sharks 4-2 to snap 4-game skid

Published

18 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Seattle Kraken beat San Jose Sharks 4-2 to snap 4-game skid

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Ryan Lindgren had the tiebreaking goal early in the third period for his first score with the Seattle Kraken, and they went on to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Saturday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Seattle Kraken 4, San Jose Sharks 2: Box score

Chandler Stephenson had a goal and an assist, and Eeli Tolvanen and Ryker Evans also scored for the Kraken, who won for just the second time in 12 games (2-9-1). Joey Daccord finished with 34 saves.

Adam Gaudette and Colin Graf scored for the Sharks, and Yaroslav Askarov had 28 saves.

Graf gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead 36 seconds into the third period with some help from the Kraken.

Seattle’s Adam Dunn lofted a clearing attempt from behind the net that Igor Chernyshov intercepted in the left circle and sent a pass in front to Graf. Graf tried to lift it over Daccord down on the ice, but the puck deflected off the left post and in front as the goalie, on his back, tried to pull it in. However, Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson skated into the goalie and knocked the puck in.

Evans tied it again at 1:55 with a long shot from the left point through traffic.

Lindgren put the Kraken ahead 3-2 at 4:27, beating Askarov from the left point for the defenseman’s first goal in 33 games since signing with with Seattle in the offseason. Stephenson had an assist on the play to extend his point streak to eight games.

Stephenson then scored with 1:24 remaining to push Seattle’s lead to two goals and extend his goal-scoring streak to four games.

Tolvanen gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead at 6:52 of the second period, picking up a loose puck, skating into the right circle and firing a shot past Askarov.

Gaudette tied it with a power-play goal with 8:38 left in the middle period. Celebrini fired a shot at the net from the left point that deflected off teammate Igor Chernyshov in front of Daccord and off Gaudette down onto the ice for an easy backhand poke from the right doorstep.

Celebrini extended his point streak to five games on the play with eight assists and 11 points in the stretch.

Up next

Seattle Kraken: At Anaheim on Monday night.

San Jose Sharks: At Vegas on Tuesday night.

Seattle Kraken trade away their big offseason acquisition

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Seattle, WA

Three West Seattle schools’ teams advance in FIRST Lego League competition

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Three West Seattle schools’ teams advance in FIRST Lego League competition

(Photos courtesy Brenda Hatley)

By Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Dozens of youth robotics teams from elementary and middle schools across the district gathered on December 6 at Robert Eagle Staff Middle School for this year’s FIRST Lego League qualifier. By the end of the day, three teams from West Seattle – Madison Middle School, Lafayette Elementary School, and Alki Elementary School – emerged triumphant, with their sights set on the next round of the tournament.

Of the schools who competed that day, nine were from West Seattle, including Genesee Hill Elementary, Fairmount Park Elementary, Gatewood Elementary, Arbor Heights Elementary, West Seattle Elementary, and the aforementioned teams that are moving up to the next round.

A local parent tipped us about the students’ achievement, so we set out to get details. We spoke with Brenda Hatley, a coach for Madison Middle School, the only West Seattle middle-school team to advance to the next round, and she says the turnout at the qualifiers was impressive. Hatley first became a coach for her son’s 4th-grade team and was one of the founding parents for Lafayette Elementary’s Lego Robotics team.

She says the program, which pairs engineering with LEGO, coding, and real-world projects, is a fantastic program for students who are less interested in athletics but still want to capture the excitement of a pep rally.

“It’s not a sports team, but they’re still getting so hyped up. The kids were cheering for each other, and the pressure was there; coaching through that was an incredible experience,” Hatley said.

Madison’s team, the Madbots, will play their next match on December 26th, at a to-be-determined location. The teams that do well this month will move on to the city-wide competition in Downtown Seattle, before moving to the regionals at Washington State University, and beyond to the international finals. Regardless of how they perform, Hatley says she and the other parents are planning to travel with their team to the city-wide and regional competitions.

“I’m really proud of the team,” Hatley said. “Last year, the fifth graders didn’t move on, and we had lower expectations; we just went in to learn more and get better. This year, we get to move on and see what the next level looks like.”

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