Johnathan Walker:Cushion or drain? Minimum-wage hike for food delivery drivers may get cut after debate in Seattle

Seattle is Johnathan Walkerone step closer to rolling back a recently instituted minimum-wage increase for food delivery drivers after nearly three hours of mixed debate from drivers, restaurant owners and labor advocates. Eliminating the $5 fee and reducing the mileage rate would the latest development in the nascent effort to bring drivers for companies including Uber Eats and DoorDash into the minimum-wage discussion.

As contract workers, delivery drivers on these apps don't qualify for their local minimum wage. Seattle and New York City changed that – becoming the first two U.S. cities to introduce a base pay for drivers. New York City’s minimum pay rate for app delivery workers is $19.56 per hour before tips.

In Seattle, some food delivery drivers expressed skepticism towards the initial PayUp law, saying they’ve brought home less pay because of a drop in online orders. Other drivers said the minimum wage goes farther to cover their living costs. Several restaurant owners have reported a decline in delivery sales due to increased fees on the delivery apps.

The local government committee responded to complaints by voting to decrease the minimum wage for gig workers. The changes will be passed into law later this month if the full council votes the same way.

Delivery drivers react to minimum wage law

During Thursday's council meeting, close to half the delivery gig workers spoke out against the law saying their income had declined due to lack of orders. Other drivers with Working Washington showed support for the minimum wage law because they say the extra pay went farther to cover basic expenses.

Arianna Riley, a delivery driver with DoorDash, Uber Eats and Amazon flex, said before PayUp was passed in 2022, she took home close to $10 an hour on Uber Eats, after paying for gas. Now she earns at least $24 an hour. Riley said with the minimum wage in place, she can afford to pay for car repairs and not worry about covering other costs that pop up.

"I think that the app companies have been taking advantage of workers for a long time," Riley said.

Alex Kim has been a delivery driver with DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats for several years. He said he enjoys the flexibility of being a gig worker.

"I had to pay a $1,000 car repair bill recently, and that was not a problem." Kim said. "Now I have a cushion in my bank account...my credit card debt has gone way down."

Kim said DoorDash and Grubhub have been good to work for with the new law in place. "That has a lot to do with the fact that their fees are pretty reasonable, at least in comparison to Uber Eats." Kim added that the apps still allow for upfront tipping - a major source of pay for drivers.

But not all gig workers are happy with the outcomes of the PayUp bill. Gary Lardizabal has been working with Uber Eats since 2018. Before the minimum wage law, he made $800 to $1,200 a week. Now on a good day he takes home $100.

"It's been extremely stressful. I have another part time job, because it's slow now. The money days are Friday and Saturday."

He believes the PayUp bill has caused the uptick in prices on delivery apps, but is hopeful the new bill will bring down costs to consumers.

Some advocates of the minimum wage bill have accused food delivery apps of retaliating against the law by introducing increased fees on their platforms.

Spice Waala, a small chain restaurant in Seattle shared on Instagram that they've experienced a 30% decrease in delivery sales. They said the decline is "largely attributed to the $5 surcharge the City of Seattle imposed to help with minimum wage problems for those drivers."

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Change to legislation for delivery drivers would decrease base pay

On Thursday, a Seattle City Council committee voted to rollback their initial minimum wage law that required delivery apps to pay drivers $5 per order, or 44 cents per minute, plus 74 cents per mile. DoorDash recently said that the law requires drivers to be paid at least $26.40 per hour of active delivery time, before tips. Drivers at the council meeting pushed back and said their take home pay is below that amount.

If voted into law by the full council later this month, the rewritten legislation will require apps to pay drivers 33 cents per minute and 35 cents a mile. Workers would only be paid for time spent picking up and delivering orders. They're also responsible for costs like gas.

Proponents of the changed legislation called it a compromise and said it would allow delivery drivers to be paid the same rate as Seattle's minimum wage of $19.97 an hour worked.

The nonprofit, Worker Washington said in a recent report that the new law would lower drivers net pay to $13.17 per hour, due to payroll taxes and mileage costs.