Food Delivery Drivers Say Pay Sharply Dropped After Prop 22 Passed

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• California workers with delivery apps like GrubHub or SF-based companies Doordash, Uber Eats, and Uber-owned Postmates tell the Guardian that they’re making even less than they were before the app-sponsored Prop 22 — which promised workers a guarnteed minimum wage in exchange for the state’s standard employee protections — was approved by voters. “If you try to earn money, just purely on the delivery fee, it comes out to about $5 an hour,” one food delivery driver says. “A good day for me is maybe earning $100 before gas and expenses off eight hours of work.” That’s certainly possible, as according to a Doordash spokesperson who spoke with Eater SF, as codified by Prop 22, delivery companies’ guarnteed minimum is only paid during “active time,” which is defined as “the time from when a Dasher accepts an order to when they’ve dropped it off at the customer.” (In other words, imagine if Burger King refused to pay workers in between customer orders.) “A lot of drivers were duped” another worker says of pay and benefits promised by the Prop 22 campaign, and perhaps voters were too: Prior to its November, 2020 voter approval, delivery companies said their prices would increase if Prop 22 lost, then upped fees to cover those (apparently shrinking) worker paychecks anyway.
• A new documentary from Albany-based filmmaker Abby Ginzberg details the movement to increase the federal tipped minimum wage. [Berkeleyside]
• A ghost kitchen in the East Bay brings restaurants like Wise Sons and Senor Sisig to Lafayette diners. [East Bay Times]
• A San Leandro restaurant equipment company has more ovens, grills, mixers, and refrigerators it can handle, as restaurants continue to close across the region. [Associated Press]
• Longtime SF Chinatown kosher spot Sabra Grill is hopeful a crowdfunding campaign will keep it afloat. [J Weekly]
• The owners of three restaurants that opened during the pandemic offer an update on their business triumphs and challenges. [SF Business Times]