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<p>John,</p>
<p>Recent reporting has confirmed what many working people already feel every day: <strong>companies are using personal data to decide the lowest wage someone will accept.</strong> What working people are calling exploitation, Silicon Valley is calling innovation.</p>
<p>Several of the largest platforms in the United States — including <strong>DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft, and Uber</strong> — are using algorithms to track how long their workers stay on an app, what jobs they accept, and how urgently they need income. These algorithms calculate what the employers can pay to get the job done at the lowest rate individuals will accept. Not what their labor is worth. Not what is fair. Under surveillance wage systems, different people may be paid different wages for largely the same work, and <em>people who work longer hours are paid less per hour.</em></p>
<p><strong>These platforms rely on exploitation.</strong> That's why as part of our Fair Pay, Fair Price campaign<strong>,</strong> Color Of Change has endorsed the <strong>Empowering App-Based Workers Act </strong>to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Force companies to reveal how corporations use computers to determine pay.</li>
<li>Guarantee workers at least 75% of what customers pay.</li>
<li>Ban deceptive compensation practices.</li>
</ul>
[ [link removed] ]Join Color Of Change to demand fair pay protections for app-based workers and call for accountability for companies that perpetuate wage discrimination. Sign on today to urge Congress to pass the Empowering App-Based Workers Act!
[ [link removed] ]Sign On
<p>Working for the platforms was sold as a way to make extra money on a flexible schedule. But that’s not what it looks like today. <strong>Nearly one in four people in the U.S. now participate in some form of app-based work.</strong> What was supposed to be a side hustle has become a main source of income for one third of workers. As layoffs rise and wages fall farther behind the cost of living, more people are being pushed into this kind of work to keep up.</p>
<p><strong>Black communities are feeling this shift the hardest.</strong> Black unemployment is at 7.1 percent — a step up from the all-time low of 4.8 percent that was reached in April 2023 — and it is leading more people to rely on gig work because stable jobs aren’t accessible, and people still have to survive. Black people make up 23% of app-based workers — nearly double their representation in the overall workforce — yet consistently earn less for identical work. And the data shows people of all colors are more dependent on this type of work than white people.</p>
<p>This didn’t happen by accident.<strong> This is a system designed to extract as much work as possible for as little pay as possible.</strong></p>
<p>Similar systems are being used to set rent and adjust prices for goods and services in real time. The same idea applies: use algorithms to figure out what someone will tolerate, then charge just below that or pay just above it.</p>
<p>The impact of this isn’t felt equally. When you combine higher unemployment, lower wealth, and fewer protections, you get a system where some people have less room to say no — and are more likely to be taken advantage of. And because this happens through code rather than announcements, it often goes unnoticed. </p>
[ [link removed] ]This isn’t just about workers. It’s about whether we allow companies to rewrite the rules of the economy — or whether we demand a system that works for the people in it. Join Color Of Change's Fair Pay, Fair Price campaign — take action now to voice your support for the Empowering App-Based Workers Act!
John,
Recent reporting has confirmed what many working people already feel every day: companies are using personal data to decide the lowest wage someone will accept. What working people are calling exploitation, Silicon Valley is calling innovation.
Several of the largest platforms in the United States — including DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft, and Uber — are using algorithms to track how long their workers stay on an app, what jobs they accept, and how urgently they need income. These algorithms calculate what the employers can pay to get the job done at the lowest rate individuals will accept. Not what their labor is worth. Not what is fair. Under surveillance wage systems, different people may be paid different wages for largely the same work, and people who work longer hours are paid less per hour.
These platforms rely on exploitation. That's why as part of our Fair Pay, Fair Price campaign, Color Of Change has endorsed the Empowering App-Based Workers Act to:
-Force companies to reveal how corporations use computers to determine pay.
-Guarantee workers at least 75% of what customers pay.
-Ban deceptive compensation practices.
Join Color Of Change to demand fair pay protections for app-based workers and call for accountability for companies that perpetuate wage discrimination. Sign on today to urge Congress to pass the Empowering App-Based Workers Act!
Add Your Name: [link removed]
Working for the platforms was sold as a way to make extra money on a flexible schedule. But that’s not what it looks like today. Nearly one in four people in the U.S. now participate in some form of app-based work. What was supposed to be a side hustle has become a main source of income for one third of workers. As layoffs rise and wages fall farther behind the cost of living, more people are being pushed into this kind of work to keep up.
Black communities are feeling this shift the hardest. Black unemployment is at 7.1 percent — a step up from the all-time low of 4.8 percent that was reached in April 2023 — and it is leading more people to rely on gig work because stable jobs aren’t accessible, and people still have to survive. Black people make up 23% of app-based workers — nearly double their representation in the overall workforce — yet consistently earn less for identical work. And the data shows people of all colors are more dependent on this type of work than white people.
This didn’t happen by accident. This is a system designed to extract as much work as possible for as little pay as possible.
Similar systems are being used to set rent and adjust prices for goods and services in real time. The same idea applies: use algorithms to figure out what someone will tolerate, then charge just below that or pay just above it.
The impact of this isn’t felt equally. When you combine higher unemployment, lower wealth, and fewer protections, you get a system where some people have less room to say no — and are more likely to be taken advantage of. And because this happens through code rather than announcements, it often goes unnoticed.
This isn’t just about workers. It’s about whether we allow companies to rewrite the rules of the economy — or whether we demand a system that works for the people in it. Join Color Of Change's Fair Pay, Fair Price campaign — take action now to voice your support for the Empowering App-Based Workers Act!
[link removed]
Technology should make work more stable, more fair, and more predictable. Right now, it’s doing the opposite. And that’s not inevitable.
It’s a choice. A choice that we can organize against. Through our Fair Pay, Fair Price campaign, we're:
-Collecting stories from affected workers.
-Building a coalition to demand corporate transparency.
-Pushing for legislation that protects ALL workers.
Thank you for joining us to take action.
Until Justice Is Real,
Color Of Change
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