The livelihood of many workers is at stake. It is part of the somewhat loosely regulated gig economy and this move by Instacart is allowing unfair practices in labor and is affecting the lives of thousands of diligent workers who are unable to make nearly the wage they were previously before the change.

My name is Esteban Miranda and I am a member of Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL). I work for Kimco Services cleaning a Kohl’s store in the Twin Cities. I am fighting for retail janitors to have a fair wage so I can realize my dream of paying off my house. Right now, my wages are so low that I can just barely make my home payments. If I do not make a better wage, I will always live with the stress and fear of missing a day of work because of an illness or emergency. I do not have any paid sick days working for Kimco, so if I get sick I am at risk of missing a home payment and even losing my house. Retail janitors organizing with CTUL have won responsible contracting practices from most major retailers ensuring fair treatment for janitors. This will provide stability and security for roughly 600 retail janitors throughout the Twin Cities. Kohl’s is one of the last retail stores that is turning a blind eye to their janitorial subcontractors paying poverty wages and providing us with no benefits. In the Twin Cities, Target, Macy’s, and Best Buy have all decided to contract responsible contractors, but Kohl’s continues to ignore our requests. I am part of a group of workers fighting to raise standards in our industry because my family and I deserve to have safe and stable housing. Myself and other Kimco janitors have announced that we will be taking action during the holiday shopping season, online and in the streets on Cyber Monday and November 29th.

We will receive random text alerts telling us to head over to airport staging area! Once we drive all the way over there, pay the toll, wait several minutes and just before we are next in line we get a trip request that causes us to leave the airport, lose the money we paid in tolls and the time we waited for our airport run is wasted, and if we do not accept the request, it ruins our acceptance rating and if you do not accept 2 in a row the system throws you off line for 10 minutes causing us to lose all that time and to get in the back of the rotation! If we accept the request and cancel it ruins our rating and keeps us from certain promotions! The fact that I drove to the airport demonstrates that I want an airport trip, if I wanted to pickup trips outside the airport I would leave the airport and turn on the app!

When I was seventeen years old, I got my first job at a local diner. I enjoyed the busy restaurant environment and could see myself working in this industry for years to come. Fast forward ten years later, management experience, a bit of college under my belt, and I'm still working in the restaurant industry. Sadly, my passion and love for the industry has faded rather quickly all due to my current employer: Eat'n Park. I was 36 weeks pregnant when I was hired at Eat'n Park. To their credit, they were very accommodating with my pregnancy needs and schedule, but I started to notice some things that had me question my employment there. After a typical eight hour shift, we're lucky if we walk out with twenty dollars in our pockets. That's because we're paid the petty wage of $2.83/hour - a wage that hasn't been raised in nearly twenty years, and rely exclusively on widely fluctuating customer tips. We are also often burdened with additional non-tipped work and sometimes forced to give up our tables if the shift supervisor (who makes four times the amount we do) decides that they want some extra money. As a result of the low pay and unfair working conditions, we can't keep staff. Since I started earlier this year, a majority of the people that I trained with have all quit. It's worth noting that the majority of Eat'n Park servers are women, many of them mothers. They're trying to raise a family off the tips and a $3.99 breakfast special. Let's do some math on that one; a 20% tip (considered what people typically tip for excellent service) is a paltry 80 cents. It should come as no surprise that when my coworkers have children (including myself), they can't afford to take much time off work. I managed to take two weeks off after having my son, Connor. Unfortunately, there are many others who can't afford that. The most infuriating part is that what I've shared is only half my story. Arguably the hardest job at Eat'n Park is working in the back of the house. Some of these hardworking guys and gals only make $7.25/hour and haven't seen a raise in YEARS. Let me finish by saying that we support and applaud Eat'n Park for making a genuine effort in being a good community partner, but they need to recognize that we, their employees, are also members of the community. They need to fairly compensate the staff before they run a sophisticated PR campaign to make themselves look good in Pittsburgh. Finding a decent job is tough, it's tougher when we're working full-time and not making any money. We can hustle our whole shift to make sure that our managers and customers are satisfied, but still only leave with a few dollars in our pockets. Something has to change and it has to change NOW. I want to see my fellow employees succeed in life and be secure in their financial and personal lives. I want our back of house employees to FINALLY be rewarded for their work with a raise. Help me bring equality to my fellow co-workers and get some much needed change to our restaurant industry.

This is important because there is a hiring and retention issue of quality Environmental Compliance Specialists at MDE.

This is a cry for workplace fairness at Coffee Tree. Employers have been utilizing intimidation tactics, shaming and manipulation, and retaliation to rob workers of their basic rights for too long, often taking advantage of employees' lack of familiarity with these work laws. Now is the time to cease these activities. Outlined below are the concerns and clear violations of workers' rights: STOP DENYING PAID REST BREAKS. (Under the ES.C.6 Meal and Rest Periods - Employees are entitled to a minimum 10 minute rest break for each 4 hours worked. The rest period of time must be scheduled as near as possible to the midpoint of the four hours of working time. No employee may be required to work more than three consecutive hours without a rest period). Employers have been exploiting the loophole ("if the nature of the work involves several intermittent rest periods equal to ten minutes, a rest break is not required") to deny workers a 10, even when workers have been working continuously. It's also important to note that the ES.C.6 specifies that a series of ten 1-minute breaks is not sufficient to meet this requirement. Many of us will experience shifts where we work longer hours than we were scheduled for, work continuously, and are entitled to a ten minute break but are either not made aware of this right, or are strongly discouraged from exercising this right. The restructuring of a workers' schedule into double 3.9 hr shifts as punishment for insisting on his or her 10 minute break, while not unlawful, is cheap and abominable. This redesigning not only limits the overall breaks for an employee during an entire workday, but also results in less employee satisfaction and production. Similarly, comparative shaming as a tool to discourage one or more employees from taking rest breaks creates a negative environment where employees don’t feel valued or secure. Employers must honor the work and time of an employee as evidenced in person or in surveillance which entitle the worker to his/her paid break. STOP TRYING TO RESTRICT BATHROOM ACCESS. According to DOSH, restroom breaks cannot be restricted (within reason) and do not count as a paid 10 minute rest break, though employees may choose to use the bathroom on their paid break. This is a basic health and safety right. Intimidating workers by recording length of bathroom breaks and using it as negative commentary in an employee file is despicable. STOP RETALIATING AGAINST EMPLOYEES ADVOCATING FOR THEIR RIGHTS. Concerted activity (activity done to address health/safety concerns or to improve the workplace conditions) is protected from acts of retaliation (firing, cutting of hours, creating unnecessary write-ups, wage/tip deduction). As an employee currently suffering a suspension from positive workplace actions, I am pushing for awareness that this action is not appropriate or legal. STOP UNLAWFUL WAGE DEDUCTIONS. In the training phase, we are told that cash drawer shortages, damage to the store, or excessive waste will result in our wages or tips being garnished to fill those losses. According to the Washington State Legislature (WAC 296-126-025): The only time a workers’ income (hourly wage and tips) should be garnished is with court orders, with a personal agreement with keeping a tab in the workplace, a loan, or some other extenuating circumstance. Cash shortages in tills, and accidental waste/breakage are specifically pointed out as being unlawful reasons for wage deduction. In addition, the employers have never been held accountable and continue to seize half of worker earned tips for themselves. Under FLSA, managerial and professional positions are not eligible to take a cut of tips from tipped employees. Coffee Tree employers must observe these laws, return money unlawfully taken from employees in the past, and cease this procedure altogether. Protecting quantifiable losses of the stores (time and money) at the expense of the businesses' most valuable commodity, the workers, is not lawful or virtuous. Let us strive not only for great coffee and customer care, but also great care of employees. Let us recognize when breaks are warranted. Let us thrive together.

Aside from the obvious impact to what we make as drivers, it seems to me that less drivers are on the road now due to the lower fares. This causes higher drive times to initial pick ups as well as in increase in surge rates. While the surge rates would seem to benefit us, the fact that we are travelling longer distances offsets that and more surges is not good for the consumer. Also, while not explicitly stated, it was implied when fares were cut that this was to combat the winter drop in usage.

"REI employees live in fear every week wondering if they will get 30 hours or 3 hours...It is impossible to live a stable life." Edward Peters, Sales Specialist, Greensboro, NC. "I am half a paycheck away from being homeless." -William Bass, Sales Specialist, Seattle. "We as employees need a voice." -Tia Kennedy, Admin Assistant, Seattle. "This treatment has gone on far too long, and must stop." Daniel Robinson, Outdoor Instructor, Portland, OR. At Seattle City Hall on July 11th, just under a dozen REI workers publically shared their stories of hardship while working for REI. These employees from across the country, reported erratic schedules, low pay, hunger, poverty, and homelessness. These conditions have been pervasive, despite REI having a well known reputation as an excellent company to work for. REI bosses have promised to improve conditions, but urged workers to keep quiet and only talk individually to their immediate supervisors. Why does REI want to keep improvements quiet? Workers want assurance that REI will make the changes that they so desperately need. By signing this petition, you are telling the CEO and Board that you want them to make the improvements that REI workers want, and that they need. With your help, we can make REI live up to its claims of being: a model leader in the retail industry, a democratic Cooperative not a greedy corporation, an employer that seeks "to maintain an excellent workplace for staff" with a "commitment to responsible corporate citizenship."

The labor situation has gone from tight to infuriating. Labor has been cut so much in corporate stores, that one call-off (an employee calling in sick) impacts the entire day, as managers are directed to cut shifts to save on labor costs. Baristas trying to work more than 25 hours a week (myself included) find that a near impossible task. You end up taking it personally, when corporate directs your stores to understaff, and under schedule. You wonder if they realize how difficult it is to pay your bills when you work 25 hours a week? Right now, the labor allowed to stores is so dire that it’s killing morale, companywide. Let it be stated that this job isn’t a hard one. It’s demanding, but it’s easy work, if trained properly. Customers want their coffee and they want it in a timely fashion. As labor continues to be cut, it creates an atmosphere where baristas are worn to the bone without being able to take a breath. Cleanliness suffers, speed of service suffers, partners suffer. Many baristas are twenty-something college students, living at home. Many more are people like myself, artists, writers, breadwinners, who depend on their income. The tip situation has also drastically changed. Before the implementation of a Starbucks Reward program (MSR), tips were higher. Now, with a growing percentage and majority of customers using the app, and their registered cards, tips are in major decline. When you factor that in with actual take home pay, it’s a scary place to be. The way Starbucks frames itself, is that it’s a company worth investing in, worth being loyal to. Because of the health care, the benefits, the 401K, the stock, on the outside, why wouldn’t you want to invest yourself, as an employee to a great company? (and it is a great company). Realistically, investing in starbucks, as an employee, is becoming more difficult. Hours are becoming more elusive as store managers hire 10-20 employees at 20-25 hours a week, sacrificing tenured employees. At Starbucks, tenure makes no difference. These days, a 7 year employee makes as much as a new hire. Experience is given no merit. Right now, the labor climate keeps most baristas regularly underemployed, enough to qualify for benefits, but not enough to afford to pay for them. The most frustrating aspect lately is the pay, and having to commute to work for a 4.5 hour shift, while spending over an hours worth of pay to get yourself there. Labor is the real bone of contention, in addition to the drinks that corporate continues to roll out, (absent the labor to support them, as in years past), baristas also continue to struggle in their stores, with more expectation, with less support staff. These days, baristas do the work for two to three people as labor isn’t just cut to save money, it’s under cut, so stores are intentionally understaffed. I love Starbucks. As an artist, and a fan of process, it’s a job that plays into that love (and to my strengths), and a genuine connection to people and customers of all ages, races, genders, and expressions. The Starbucks culture is singular. I haven’t experienced it anywhere else. What’s happening is a slow extinction of that culture. As less and less people are staffed in stores the pressure mounts. THIS is what needs to change.

Rideshare business in the city areas of San Francisco is pretty constant - there are PLENTY of riders and drivers to keep business flowing smoothly. In the Napa & Sonoma Valleys, riders are farther away and drivers are not as plentiful. It is not uncommon to be asked to drive for 20 to 30 minutes to pick up a customer, who then requests a 3 minute drive......profit for drivers is next to nothing on trips like these. Customers ask drivers to wait for them at wineries in remote locations. After Uber 25% is deducted, drivers make $9.90 an hour while waiting - not a profitable choice. Many customers ask if they can hire me for the day to drive them from winery to winery - I believe there is a market in Napa for this sort of rideshare option. In addition, I get many requests to drive from Napa to the airports. It is a 75 mile drive from Calistoga to SFO - which is a respectable fare. BUT, I still have a 75 mile drive to get back home, plus the cost of gas, bridge tolls and the hour and a half of driving with an empty car. So the bottom line is that the original respectable fare is greatly diluted......

As a partner we work hard to earn our raises. We should not fear making changes in our lives based on our pay being drastically dropped. On top of the pay drop the new pay is determined by a computer that knows nothing about the partner or the work experience they possess.

Bumping an active employee with a D3 is in no way fair....