I’m still so bent out of shape about this I don’t even want to write about it. I worked for the grocery delivery app company Instacart from 2018-2020, including when the pandemic hit. The majority of their workforce are contract workers, which is what I was when I started working as an in store shopper. I preferred to just do the shopping rather than driving around Austin too. Eventually I accepted an offer for shift lead, which meant signing paperwork to become a real employee with rights & health insurance.

During the pandemic, Instacart consistently failed to adequately provide employees with masks, hand sanitizer, guidance, hazard pay, etc. They made the choice to cut pay for employees and contractors at that time. I was pissed. Nothing happened to my pay, but the cut impacted a lot of people I worked with. I tried to unionize after I heard about Instacart’s first union being established in late 2019 in some store up north. Instacart did everything they could to shut down unionization efforts, including firing all their Austin area employees.

What a shitty move! So please join me in protesting Instacart. They’re a terrible, amoral company. I remember asking in a Zoom meeting why managers who didn’t even set foot in the actual grocery stores were getting hazard pay but actual employees weren’t. The regional director manager guy got all pissed & said people like me had a bad attitude. No shit dude, if I got way more money for doing way less I’d probably be all content & pissy if someone called me on it. This whole situation bummed me out, I liked what I did.

If I can provide one piece of commentary that isn’t me griping about my old job, it’s remember drawing this page & finally getting frustrated about how small I draw these comics. When I started doing these comics, I chose to draw them small (they’re reproduced for print basically at 1:1). It was to allow myself to make quick & dirty comics & not think too much or spend too much time on it. Clearly I’ve reverted back to my old ways & done the complete opposite. This format isn’t the best for the wide shots with a lot of detail. After Human Stuff #3 is complete, I’m excited to change up how I draw these autobiographical comics.

The post Essential Worker: Union-Busting Instacart Fires Austin Employees During the Pandemic first appeared on Human Stuff.

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​Human Stuff I’m still so bent out of shape about this I don’t even want to write about it. I worked for the grocery delivery app company Instacart from 2018-2020, including when the pandemic hit. The majority of their workforce are contract workers, which is what I was when I started working as an in store shopper.
The post Essential Worker: Union-Busting Instacart Fires Austin Employees During the Pandemic first appeared on Human Stuff.