Instacart shoppers plan strike Monday to demand coronavirus protections

As COVID-19 spreads throughout the U.S., Americans have turned to grocery delivery services to avoid going out and potentially exposing themselves to the virus. But the workers who make those deliveries happen say they're feeling none of that same security.

Shoppers for the grocery delivery service Instacart will stop accepting orders starting Monday to demand better protections amid the pandemic. They're seeking additional "hazard pay" for every delivery, paid protections such as hand sanitizer and gloves, and expanded sick leave, and won't return to work until their demands are met, Vice first reported.

"It's so scary to be in a grocery store right now, and so scary to be around swarm and mobs of people," veteran Instacart shopper and strike organizer Vanessa Bain told The Washington Post. But "while Instacart's corporate employees are working from home, Instacart's [gig workers] are working on the frontlines in the capacity of first responders," Bain told Vice. Instacart joins strikers across the nation, including Amazon workers in Queens and sanitation worker in Philadelphia, who are complaining of unsafe conditions amid the new coronavirus spread.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

"The health and safety of our entire community — shoppers, customers, and employees — is our first priority," a spokesperson for Instacart told Vice. The company offered new features and benefits to workers in a Friday blog post, including adding 30 more days to its 14-day sick leave for those quarantined or sick from COVID-19, but only for those who've tested positive for the disease. None of the new benefits met strikers' demands.