Essential or Expendable? Gig Workers at Instacart & Grocery Stores Demand Safety Gear & Hazard Pay

Grocery stores are one of the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, with store workers and gig economy shoppers often working without protection, as demand for groceries soars and millions of Americans stay home. "At first, when the adrenaline was still there, we were essential. We were prideful. And now, as we get more into it, that's wearing off, and it's seeming more like expendable," says Matthew Telles, a member of the Gig Workers Collective, who is a personal shopper who helped organize a strike by Instacart workers in March to demand the company implement appropriate safety measures and give them hazard pay.