Here’s why we need Instacart, DoorDash, and other gig companies to #PayUp.

There are a million screenshots we could share to make it clear just how shady gig companies are when it comes to pay. But let’s dig into a couple.

Instacart shopper Nicole Johnson in New Jersey sent over this paystub from a job she did recently…

At first glance, it might not look terrible — $15 for just over an hour of work. But Instacart and other gig companies count on hiding the real costs of doing work from workers — so let’s dig in and do some math.

Nicole drove 21 miles from the store to the customer, plus an additional three miles to get to the store. At Instacart's reimbursement rate, that's $14.40 worth of gas and wear and tear on her car.

That means the vast majority of the pay for this job was just making up for the miles Nicole put on her car.

In total, this job took her an hour and 28 minutes (including the ten-minute drive to the store).

Once you factor in the extra payroll taxes independent contractors have to cover, Instacart paid Nicole an hourly rate of...96 cents an hour.