Gig workers for Shipt, a Target-owned grocery delivery service, are protesting for fairer pay.
Workers penned a letter on Medium announcing that they would protest Monday to bring attention to the company's new pay model that they said slashed wages.
Shipt workers, called Shoppers, said they will host a demonstration outside Target's headquarters in Minneapolis, and have been walking out of work since Saturday. Organizers will be reading letters from workers impacted by the price change.
Shoppers, who are independent contractors and don't get benefits like minimum wage or healthcare, were originally paid a flat rate based on the total amount of money customers spent for their delivery. The new price model uses an algorithm that calculates pay based on "effort," by using factors like items in the bag, the city shoppers are in, the delivery route taken, and other variables.
—Nicole Norfleet (@nicolenorfleet) October 19, 2020
Instacart, DoorDash, and Lyft implement a similar algorithm that workers say do not guarantee minimum wage, Vice reported.
The new pay model had been implemented in some cities earlier this year, and Shipt confirmed to Business Insider that it expanded the price model to the entire country at the end of September.
Molly Snyder, the chief communications officer for Shipt, said the new pay model on average didn't change wages — positively or negatively — but certain some workers may have seen a decline in pay. A study conducted by Coworker.org and in partnership with an MIT PhD student found the new pay model resulted in less pay for 41% of shoppers, and the number of people earning less is growing.
Snyder also told Business Insider Shipt had "more shoppers than ever before" this weekend.
"While we respect that not everyone is going to agree with the decision we made that is in the best interest overall for the company and shoppers, we believe the model we rolled out is the right one for the company," she said.
Target declined to comment on the protest.
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