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"Human Rights Watch interviewed 95 platform workers in the US between 2021 and 2023, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, and New York. Human Rights Watch also conducted a survey in 2023 of 127 platform workers in Texas, which has some of the country’s weakest labor protections.

The nonprobability survey, the first of its kind in the state, is not generalizable to other workers, but provides systematically collected case-level data on subjects that are typically obscure. It found that the median wage among those surveyed was just US$5.12 per hour after deducting work-related expenses and nonwage benefits that form part of employee remuneration. This is nearly 30 percent below the federal minimum wage, which has not kept pace with productivity or inflation since 2009, and roughly 70 percent below the living wage required for single adults with no dependents to meet their rights in the state.

Ninety-five of 127 survey respondents said they struggled to afford housing in the last year, while the majority said they struggled to afford food, groceries, electricity, and water. Forty-four respondents said that they would not be able to cover a $400 emergency expense right now, while another 64 respondents said that they would take on credit card debt or borrow from family or friends to cover the expense."

hrw.org/report/2025/05/12/gig-

Human Rights Watch · The Gig TrapThe 155-page report, “The Gig Trap: Algorithmic, Wage and Labor Exploitation in Platform Work in the US” focuses on seven major companies operating in the US: Amazon Flex, DoorDash, Favor, Instacart, Lyft, Shipt, and Uber. These companies claim to offer gig workers “flexibility” but often end up paying them less than state or local minimum wages. Six of the seven companies use algorithms with opaque rules to assign jobs and determine wages, meaning that workers do not know how much they will be paid until after completing the job.

Suspending Meta

I posted the below to my followers on Facebook.

I have made the very difficult decision to suspend posting on this (Meta/FB/IG) platform indefinitely. Facebook and Instagram have been a home for me, a community, and my first steps into a world where I felt accepted and valued for who I was. However, I no longer believe the dominant culture of these platforms support the communities I care so deeply about. I cannot, in good conscience, normalize incivility while allowing Meta to generate revenue from content which I created, as they so blatantly cast aside standards meant to protect the very communities I cherish.

I would like to thank everyone who has been part of my extended family since sharing my adventures. I hope, in time, we can reconnect in other spaces that feel and are actually safe. Until then, please remember, I love you.

P.S. My other social links mattdobbins.com