Postmate couriers filing a law suit for unfair wages
Postmate Couriers are in an uproar over a new payment structure. Because of the payment changes recently made by Postmates, Couriers are claiming unfair wages, among other things. Some couriers are banding together as a united front in the attempt to make a change.
Postmates is a courier service which delivers products to customers on demand. Products are delivered from a customer's favorite stores, restaurants, and markets, etc. The couriers working for this company are independent contractors who are being paid per job to pick up and drop off said products.
The way these jobs are delegated is through a real time app. Basically when the app is open a notification pops up on the courier's screen and they have a short amount of time to accept or deny a job request. The app informs you of the name of the store, the address, and sometimes the payout for the job in this notification.
This is where the fight begins, Being that some couriers have been able to see the payout info before accepting or denying a job they had a leg up on how much they were making per job, per hour, etc. Now that the new pay structure has gone into effect from what I understand all couriers are on a blind dispatch (meaning you can't see the drop off info before accepting or denying a job). The fact that Postmate couriers are independent contractors, paid per job, some feel as if they need to be given the drop off information prior to accepting a job.
Another dispute couriers have with Postmates is that when given a job, you are expected to complete the job, or reassign the job to a new courier if it is not possible to complete it in time. All this must be done while maintaining a healthy ratio of accepted jobs to reassigned jobs. Now being a blind dispatch, I could imagine the reassign rate has gone up. With this happening Postmate couriers have been receiving threats of suspension due to reassigning too often. This is unfair to the couriers because the information was not clearly listed prior to accepting job. The amount the job will payout and the delivery address is not available until a job is accepted.
The fight has just begun and a group of Postmate couriers have contacted Lichten & Liss - Riordan, a law firm, assisting these couriers with an attempt to sue for unfair wages. Lichten & Liss - Riordan law firm is the same company who is suing Uber. This company also has a law suit out against Lyft and Postmates customer service. This makes you wonder how much this law firm is getting paid to sue these companies and is it worth it to join the cause?
On the opposite end of the spectrum other Postmates are upset about the lawsuit and fear the lawsuit will prompt Postmates to hire drivers as employees rather then independent contractors. This, of course, will allow for a more strict policy, schedule and payouts would possibly drop dramatically.
You can call Rabecca Shuford and make the decision for yourself. She will provide you with all the detailed information regarding the lawsuit.
If you are interested in joining the cause info is as follows:
Lichten & Liss - Riordan
Rebecca Shuford
617-994-5800
The Anti-Office Space
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