Gig Workers Win Right to Sue
Delivery sustainability questioned, 3PD marketshare, InDrive launches in U.S.
Are we about to see an avalanche of new lawsuits? The big apps, and the Chamber of Commerce, are making the case, as gig workers just won the right to sue instead of taking cases to arbitration. Meanwhile, InDrive threatens to rewrite the rules, as it brings its bidding-based app to the U.S. And take a look at new data on sustainability, and marketshare.
Today:
California Workers Win Big Labor Lawsuit
Is Delivery Sustainable?
Chart Time | DoorDash Retains 3PD Marketshare Lead
InDrive Bring Bid-Based App to America
POLICY | California Gig Workers Win Right to Sue
The California Supreme Court ruled against Uber, which had been seeking to limit the ability of drivers and delivery workers to take dispute employment-related issues to court. Former Uber Eats driver Erik Adolph brought the suit, alleging that he had been misclassified as an independent contractor, and as such had not been paid in accordance with minimum wage and overtime rules.
The Big Picture: The ruling itself isn’t about worker classification, but about the Private Attorneys General Act - which allows workers to sue on the state’s behalf over labor law violations. Uber’s position was that Adolph had signed a contract requiring him to take the court to arbitration, usually corporations’ preferred method of solving disputes. By ruling that workers aren’t bound by their arbitration agreement - expect to see a lot more suits against gig apps in the Golden State.
SUSTAINABILITY | Is Grocery Delivery Green?
New research out of CMU examines the energy use, congestion, and emissions impact of grocery delivery, and finds that it’s generally less sustainable than when people shop for themselves. The study weighed a number of factors — batch size, substitution rate, penetration rate, delivery time, store location, and trip type — but under most scenarios there were still sustainability issues.
The Big Picture: The main factor was that the researchers contend that most in-store shoppers chain their grocery trip to an existing drive, such as coming home from work. That means that even if the store is a few miles away, you’re not adding many miles to your overall journey. There were some signs of hope though: if consumers and brands can shift the delivery times to off-peak, that results in an overall reduction in congestion. And if delivery fleets can move to EVs faster than consumers, that would of course bring down overall emissions as well.
CHART TIME | 3PD Market Share Update
Bloomberg Second Measure has its latest data on U.S. food delivery marketshare out, and overall sales are up 6% YoY. On a competitive level, Uber Eats is clocking in at 23%, Postmates at 2, DoorDash at a commanding 65, Grubhub at 10, and ASAP has under 1 percent. The data doesn’t capture pre-paid or corporate spending, so throw a grain of salt on this meal for good measure.
RIDEHAIL | InDrive Brings Bid-Based Gig App to U.S.
It’s a coming to America story for InDrive, a ridehail and delivery app that’s huge in LatAm and Central Asia, but basically unheard of stateside. Freshly armed with $150 million in debt financing, the company is first planting the flag in South Florida, where the large South American expatriate population may be somewhat more familiar with the brand.
The Big Picture: InDrive’s biggest differentiator is that it behaves like a true marketplace. Customers name the price they’re willing to pay for a journey, and drivers can counter with higher rates. Ahh, who doesn’t love a good phone based negotiation while you’re barreling down the interstate! We’ll see if American consumers are willing to deal with that extra step for the potential to save a few bucks. Also TBD is if the company brings its delivery-service to America as well; it currently offers bid-based couriering for packages in a number of countries.
A Few Good Links
Thailand’s delivery giant Line Man Wongnai snaps up POS FoodStory. In-N-Out prohibits employees from wearing masks. DoorDash in trouble with NLRB for interfering with unionization efforts in AZ. TikTokers mad when their Serve robots bring food order 30 mins late. Randy’s Donuts going global. Uber Freight cuts off access to Yellow after carrier suspends payments. Delivery drivers file class action suit against Pizza Hut operator. Biggest Costco ever coming to… drum roll… Fresno!
Got a tip, feedback, or just want to say hi? Reply back to this email.