Megan Rose Dickey
Senior Reporter
The Latest from Megan Rose Dickey
Driverless vehicles in the age of the novel coronavirus
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to different outcomes for different businesses. While some have stood to benefit (think Zoom, Facebook and bidet startup Tushy), others have been hit hard and laid off em
Target’s Shipt shoppers are walking off work today
Shipt shoppers, which began organizing in February, are staging their first action today. Yesterday, a group of Shipt shoppers, who shop and deliver orders from Target and other stores, announced thei
Bidet startup Tushy scales up to meet demand amid toilet paper shortage
Business at Tushy is booming. While the circumstances that led to the boom are sobering, the bidet company needed to adapt its strategy after seeing an uptick in business amid the COVID-19 pandemic. O
Pandemic puts the brakes on micromobility
As of this writing, nearly a million people globally have been infected with the novel coronavirus and 50,322 have died. Healthcare systems are overwhelmed, consumers and profiteers are hoarding suppl
Instacart to provide shoppers with face masks, hand sanitizers and thermometers
Instacart will start providing health and safety kits to its full-service shoppers. These kits will include a face mask, hand sanitizer and a thermometer, the company announced today. The kits will be
Airbnb will pay hosts $250 million to help cover cancellations due to COVID-19
Airbnb is committing $250 million to put toward hosts who have been impacted by COVID-19. That means if a guest cancels a reservation for check-in between March 14 and May 31 due to a COVID-19-related
Amazon warehouse workers are walking out and Whole Foods workers are striking
Amazon, the e-commerce giant that has fared well financially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is facing a bevy of worker strikes. Today, warehouse workers on Staten Island in New York walked off the job in
Instacart shoppers say company’s response to strike demands is ‘insulting’
Over the weekend, Instacart outlined its plans to better support shoppers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For starters, Instacart has begun distributing its own hand sanitizer and disinfecting supplies an
Bird lays off about 30% of workforce amid COVID-19 pandemic
Bird is the latest startup hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, Bird laid off about 30% of its employees amid the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus, TechCrunch has learned. This came out to 406 pe
Instacart shoppers are planning a nationwide strike to demand better safety protections and pay amid COVID-19
Instacart shoppers, led by the folks over at Gig Workers Collective, are planning a nationwide strike in protest of the company’s practices amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Vice first reported. Shopp
Wheels is deploying e-bikes with self-cleaning handlebars and brake levers
Wheels, which recently paused its shared bike service to limit the spread of COVID-19, is making its pedal-less e-bikes available for gig workers, restaurants, non-profits or any other people who do
Gig workers could get unemployment benefits under $2 trillion Senate stimulus bill
The Senate’s historic $2 trillion stimulus package will make history in one more way: by providing some financial assistance to gig workers. Late last night, the Senate passed a $2 trillion stim
SF survey addresses gig workers’ concerns amid COVID-19 pandemic
With the novel coronavirus pandemic posing an ongoing threat to people’s health, especially the health of essential workers, San Francisco is conducting a survey to learn more about the issues g
SF supervisors push for more gig worker protections during the coronavirus pandemic
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors is pushing a number of legislative bodies to offer more protections and benefits for gig workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. As gig workers are still out d
NYC is offering gig workers delivery jobs during COVID-19 pandemic
To help gig workers make ends meet during these times of job insecurity amid COVID-19, New York City is offering gig workers who are licensed with the TLC to help with delivery work. While the demand
A look inside one startup’s work-from-home playbook
Working from home is having a moment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but some startups are having an easier time of it than others. Collage, an e-commerce site for custom gifts, has been all-remote since
Wheels pauses shared bikes service to try to limit spread of COVID-19
In light of growing concerns around COVID-19, Wheels has decided to pause its pedal-less e-bike operations until the end of March, the company announced today. “After weighing the pros and cons,
Gig workers have created a tool to offer mutual aid during COVID-19 pandemic
Despite cities and states across the nation ordering people to stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, gig workers are still out there delivering food to people and giving them rides for essential
Lime pauses scooter operations in select markets amid COVID-19
Lime is pausing its electric scooter operations in California and Washington, as well as throughout the countries of Italy, France and Spain to help keep riders safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. R
Instacart shopper ratings won’t affect access to orders during COVID-19 pandemic
As a way to try to ease some of the pressure and low ratings gig workers may face from panicked customers, Instacart has made some changes to its app. The first is that shopper ratings won’t aff