Today’s Solutions: November 18, 2024

Gig workers are often at odds with the companies through which they find work, whether it’s over how well they’re paid or how they’re treated. A gig worker and activist duo are attempting to help improve working conditions for contractors across the board. Vanessa Bain and Sarah Clarke created the Gig Workers Collective, which has a pending application to become a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization.

The pair are well-known activists in the gig worker community. They were among the leaders of a six-day protest against Instacart in December and held a 72-hour strike in the hopes of persuading Instacart to give all tips to its shoppers and to revamp how fees work. Earlier this month, a group of Instacart employees in Chicago unionized, the first group of the company’s workers to do so in the US.

Clarke’s goals with the organization include helping gig workers organize, file grievances and stand up for themselves whichever company they carry out work for. In essence, the Gig Workers Collective wants to be the “first responders” to help gig workers when they are in need.

It’s early days for the Gig Workers Collective, which is seeking funding to bolster its work. If it gains traction, it could help gig workers give themselves more of a voice in their efforts to secure better pay and working conditions. 

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

Women in New Mexico make history with legislative majority

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM With 60 of the 112 seats in the state legislature, New Mexico women have set a new benchmark ...

Read More

Rat patrol: African rodents trained to sniff out smuggled wildlife products

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Move over, sniffer dogs! Scientists in Tanzania are now using African giant pouched rats to locate smuggled wildlife ...

Read More

Need more vitamin D? Add these 5 foods to your diet

The shorter days of winter months means most of us are spending less time in the sunshine than we used to. As we head ...

Read More

British 13-year-old finds hoard of Bronze Age artifacts with her metal detector

Thirteen year old Milly Hardwich was using her metal detector for the first time in Royston, England when she came upon something unexpected. Milly ...

Read More