On the day when gig workers had called for a walkoff from Target's Shipt delivery business over pay and safety concerns, Shipt said it would offer bonuses to its most active workers.
The Star Tribune reports on the move by Shipt, which handles same-day deliveries for Minneapolis-based Target and other retailers. The bonuses amount to $100 for workers who completed between 50 and 100 orders last month and $200 for those who handled more than 100 orders.
The announcement followed a walkout threat by a group of Shipt gig workers, who fulfill shopping requests from Target customers and deliver groceries and other supplies. The workers, concerned about exposing themselves to the spreading coronavirus, are seeking additional pay — which the workers termed "hazard pay" — as well as expansion of the company's sick time, plus hand sanitizer and wipes to clean the carts and baskets.
The bonuses fall short of the pay boost of $5 per order that workers wanted.
It's unclear how much traction the walkout had, though one Shipt gig worker said the bonus offer showed Target had gotten the message. The company also promised to provide sanitizing gear in areas hit hard by COVID-19. A spokesperson said that the bonus offer had been planned before the walkout threat. Shipt CEO Kelly Caruso posted this video and letter to its workforce on Tuesday.
Target acquired Shipt for $550 million in late 2017 and has incorporated the service into its digital shopping operations. The service has grown more important than ever this year as the COVID-19 pandemic has kept millions of consumers at home and more reliant on deliveries.
