Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Gig Economy Pay Up topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gig workers urge Seattle City Council to leave 'Pay Up' law unchanged
Summary
Delivery drivers and gig workers testified at the Feb. 25 Seattle City Council meeting, urging the council not to alter the city's "Pay Up" law and pointing to an upcoming Office of Labor Standards report and ongoing litigation involving platform companies.
Several Seattle gig workers said Feb. 25 they rely on the city's "Pay Up" law to make ends meet and urged the Seattle City Council not to change it.
The public comment period at the council's Feb. 25 meeting drew a mix of in-person and remote speakers who described delivering food and essential items during bad weather, supporting the Pay Up law, and opposing proposals to reduce driver pay. "Leave it alone," said Ariana Riley, a delivery driver in Seattle. "Pay up has been a lifesaver." Riley told the council she has become the primary financial provider for two elderly family members and said reducing pay would threaten her family's housing stability.
The comments reflected concerns about recent remarks by a council member suggesting the law might be revised. Michelle Balzer, who identified herself as a gig worker, referenced that discussion directly: she said she had heard talk of "maybe tweaking the gig law" and urged the council to "leave it where it is." Alberto Alvarez, speaking remotely, said data on several thousand driver orders is now coming into the Office of Labor Standards and described a public report likely to be released "in the next few months." Alvarez told the council Pay Up "ensures every order has fair pay for the time and mileage" and referenced legal action against platform companies, saying drivers "demand that our wages are fair and our rights are protected."
Speakers combined policy arguments with personal accounts. Ariana Riley said the law helped her support ill relatives and that businesses and drivers have continued to operate since Pay Up was enacted. Alvarez also noted drivers continued delivering in severe weather, saying they provided "hot meals, medications, emergency supplies" during a sleet-and-snow night referenced in his remarks.
Council members did not take public action on the subject during the open meeting. The public comment period closed after the scheduled speakers finished, and the council proceeded to other business, including adopting the consent calendar and later convening an executive session on potential litigation.
