'Hometown Heroes Or Whatever': Low-Wage Workers Want More Than Praise
In this lockdown, low-wage workers have been publicly declared "essential" — up there with doctors and nurses. But the workers say their pay, benefits and protections don't reflect it.
For grocery delivery worker Willy Solis, the last straw came when the app Shipt changed his pay — in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
It wasn't the first time that Shipt, owned by Target, had tinkered with that formula. Solis had complained about smaller paychecks and lack of pay transparency. But now he and others like him were putting their health on the line to do their work. Solis decided he had to take action. From his home in Denton, Texas, he logged on to Facebook and started organizing a nationwide walkout.
"I have never done organizing in my life," says the soft-spoken Solis, whose brown eyes peer seriously over his face mask. "I see myself falling into this as a freak accident."
