Instacart Has Retaliated Against us — Update
Update 12:00pm: Instacart has flagged our post in an effort to silence us. We are not going to let that happen. We are reposting without addressing individuals. They’re doing anything they possibly can to prevent us from speaking out and being heard.
Make no mistake, we will not be silenced. If you profit off of our exploitation, whether you’re Apoorva Mehta, an investor, employee or partner, you will be held responsible for your misdeeds.
On November 3 through 5, we Instacart Shoppers held our largest walk-off yet. We had a fair and, by all accounts, common-sense demand — that Instacart return the default tip amount to the prior 10%. Instacart historically has refused to speak directly to us, so our only way to be heard was through collective action.
Instacart did respond yesterday, however, by informing Shoppers that one of the final pay perks we had left, the quality bonus, would be discontinued. For some orders, this could mean a pay cut of over 40%.
This is clearly a retaliatory act. The company has made its intentions known — they do not seek to work with us or even attempt to compromise. This is corporate cruelty, plain and simple, with no other explanation. Their only goal was to hurt us.
To say we are disappointed in Instacart’s juvenile and vindictive response would be an understatement, but we are not surprised. We are not giving up and have not lost sight of what we want: a return to fair pay, the assurance our tips are not being stolen, and a feeling of personal dignity when we tell people we shop for Instacart.
Today, as we reach out to our comrades and contacts and plan our next collective action, we will also be reading out a list of questions for Instacart corporate employees, and asking each person to take a few minutes to read it, and to think about how they themselves would react as an Instacart insider. Would you, sitting in the office, simply watch this unfold, knowing the product of your labor is being used as a boot on the face of others in your community? Would you feel proud watching the company that signs your paycheck spitefully hurt people just like you?
We like to believe the answer to those questions would be no. But there are hundreds of people at least who appear to be saying yes, if not with their words then with their actions. Perhaps one day they will realize that they have more in common with us, the workers, than they do with spiteful multimillionaires like Apoorva Mehta. And perhaps one day they will have the courage to speak up.
