Seattle, WA
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
Boeing Co. said it has resumed production across its range of aircraft programs at factories in the Pacific Northwest after they were shut down for weeks because of a lengthy workers strike.
Following the resumption of output of its popular 737 model last week, Boeing has now also taken up building the larger 767 and 777 aircraft again, Stephanie Pope, the head of the company’s commercial jet division, said in a post on LinkedIn.
Northeast Seattle businesses complain to mayor about crime
Businesses in several northeast Seattle neighborhoods have signed on to a letter to Mayor Bruce Harrell pleading for public safety.
SEATTLE – Dozens of local business owners in northeast Seattle joined in calling for help from Mayor Bruce Harrell following repeat instances of burglary and vandalism against their storefronts.
“We are small business owners and operators in the Wedgwood, Bryant, Laurelhurst, View Ridge, and Sand Point neighborhoods in northeast Seattle and District 4. We write to express concern about the spike in devastating crimes against our businesses and neighbors in this part of town,” read the letter, in part.
The letter closes with requests, reading, in part, “Please deploy additional police resources and otherwise restore public safety to our part of town. Please do more to end the reported gang and gun violence from our neighborhoods. Please help our community.”
Read the full letter from the business owners:
MORE NEWS FROM FOX SEATTLE
WA driver pulled over for having Christmas lights taped on car
Seattle City Council to open applications for vacant District 2 seat
Rock-throwing vandal damages Tacoma, WA donut shop
Police chief leading investigation in WI school shooting has ties to Seattle
Ocean heat wave known as ‘The Blob’ blamed for killing half the population of bird species
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily Fox Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX Seattle FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation.
The mystique surrounding Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, seems to be fading away.
Breaking down Seahawks’ NFC West title and playoff odds
After another loss on their home field against Green Bay, the Seahawks fell to 3-5 and clinched a losing record on their own turf this season.
What was once an unthinkable trend was on full display in primetime Sunday night, as Lumen Field was packed with a boisterous group of Packers fans who at time drowned out their Seattle counterparts. Early on at the stadium – and on the NBC Sunday Night Football broadcast – a loud “Go Pack Go!” chant could be heard clearly from the crowd.
This wasn’t the first time this season that an opposing team’s fans cut into the Seahawks’ home-field advantage – the San Francisco 49ers especially had a similar backing in Seattle in October. So after Lumen Field was once again invaded by fans of another team, Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy tried to make sense of what’s happened to the Seahawks’ formerly feared home stadium.
“I have never, in the nearly 10 years I’ve covered this team, seen home-field advantage lost the way that it has been. And I, for the life of me, can’t figure out exactly what’s going on behind the scenes,” Stacy Rost said.
Michael Bumpus, a Seahawks Radio Network analyst who played wide receiver for the franchise, has certainly noticed the change on his Sundays at the stadium.
“I walk the stadium before every game, and every game I get more and more disappointed because I feel like somebody is in our house without our permission,” he said. “They got great seats and they’re making themselves at home and they’re talking trash and they’re supporting their teams.”
According to Bumpus, the fans do make a difference.
“When I used to travel on the road, I liked road games because I liked getting booed,” Bumpus said. “But there’s nothing like the roar of support that’s helping you. We need to get that back.”
What’s the problem?
When discussing why the Seahawks are seeing more opposing fans at games, Rost and Bumpus delved into a few of the reasons they’ve consistently heard from fans.
“It’s tough. I think there are a couple (reasons) going on,” Bumpus said. “I think season-ticket holders are trying to get their money back. How do you do that? You sell your tickets. I also think that this team isn’t seen as an NFC power, so fans are less likely to go to these games. It leaves tickets open for fans like the Packers’ to get there and take this thing over.”
In the case of the Packers specifically, the swell of Green Bay fans at Lumen Field could be attributed in part to the difficulties of getting tickets to Green Bay home games. According to greenbayticketservice.com, the wait list for season tickets to Packers games is over 90,000 names long. The Packers’ website touts that its season tickets have been sold out since 1960.
“But we’re seeing this happen in multiple games,” Bumpus said. “I remember the Denver game it was crazy, the Miami game, of course the 49ers game, the Rams game – they’re taking over.”
The main culprit that Bump and Stacy feel is attributing to the opposing fan takeovers is ever-rising costs of attending games.
USA Today reported that the average price of an NFL ticket rose from $235 in 2022 to $377 in 2023. That follows a decades-long trend across all sports. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average ticket price for sporting events rose over twice as fast overall consumer products from 1999 through 2020.
According to the Seahawks’ website, season tickets currently range from $1,030 to $5,240 per seat for a full season. The price of single-game tickets can vary greatly as teams have switched to variable pricing, making games against less popular teams cheaper and those against big brands and heated rivals more expensive. The cheapest tickets on Ticketmaster for this Sunday’s upcoming home Seahawks game against the Minnesota Vikings were listed at $135 as of Monday afternoon.
“It’s unfortunate because the people who aren’t making the majority of the money are probably the most loyal fans out there,” Bumpus said. “The blue collar, hard-working people who genuinely love this team are being kicked out of the stadium because they can’t afford it.”
Another factor that’s come up in relation to the Seahawks is season-ticket holders selling tickets to fans of opposing teams. With the emergence of second-market ticketing sites, it’s become easier for resold tickets to fall into the hands of opposing fans. Sellers oftentimes don’t know who they are selling the tickets to.
“I’ve heard lots of interesting things that, as someone who’s never been a season-ticket holder, I wasn’t privy to,” Rost said. “(A texter from) the 360 (area code) said, ‘I’ve been a season-ticket holder for 20 years. Most Packers fans I’ve ever seen last night.’ They said, ‘It’s unfortunate, but for fans that can’t make the game, they’re forced to use the NFL Ticket Exchange because if we sell to someone we don’t know and then they become belligerent, we can have our tickets revoked if we don’t use the NFL Ticket Exchange.’”
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they’ve seemed to feel the impact of a less supportive crowd at home games. From when Lumen Field opened in 2002 through 2020, Seattle was 106-43 at home with 13 winning seasons and just two losing seasons. Since 2021, Seattle is just 16-17 at home and has matched its two losing seasons from the prior 19-season stretch.
“I don’t even think there’s a 12th man right now,” Bumpus said. “It’s like 11 1/2 or 11 1/4 or something. I’m not saying this to make anybody feel bad for not going, because I understand how (expensive) it is.”
Hear the full Bump and Stacy conversation in the final segment of the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Bump and Stacy live on Seattle Sports from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
Seattle Seahawks news and analysis
• How Seattle Seahawks’ play-calling took step back as win streak snapped
• Seahawks make statement in primetime – just the wrong one
• Seattle Seahawks Injuries: The latest on Geno Smith’s knee and more
• Run defense ‘didn’t start fast enough’ in Seattle Seahawks’ loss
• Rost: What Seattle Seahawks’ 30-13 loss to Packers showed
Next Weather: WBZ morning forecast for December 18, 2025
Economic hardship applications granted for Denver historic homeowners
Boeing Resumes Full Jet Production in Seattle Area After Strike
My wife and I used our military benefits to buy a $1M property in San Diego. It kickstarted my real-estate business.
Milwaukee Film’s 2025 Black History Month lineup includes ‘Do the Right Thing,’ ‘Get Out’
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Trump names Herschel Walker, Nicole McGraw to ambassador positions before issuing warning to GOP senators
New European Parliament intergroups: What’s in and What’s Out
Michael Cohen: I used to execute Trump’s threats against the press | CNN Politics
GOP senator moves to block feds from disposing of border wall materials amid auction backlash
Mysterious disease in DRC is severe malaria, health authorities say
-
Business1 week agoOpenAI's controversial Sora is finally launching today. Will it truly disrupt Hollywood?
-
Politics5 days agoCanadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25782636/247422_ChatGPT_anniversary_CVirginia.jpg "Inside the launch — and future — of ChatGPT")
Technology6 days agoInside the launch — and future — of ChatGPT
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25789444/1258459915.jpg "OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change")
Technology4 days agoOpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change
-
Politics4 days agoU.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California's zero-emissions goal
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25546252/STK169_Mark_Zuckerburg_CVIRGINIA_D.jpg "Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit")
Technology4 days agoMeta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit
-
Politics6 days agoConservative group debuts major ad buy in key senators' states as 'soft appeal' for Hegseth, Gabbard, Patel
-
Business2 days agoFreddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million