THE DRAWBACKS OF WORKING IN THE BICYCLE COURIER INDUSTRY

I was fortunate to work for an elite company, which treated it's riders fairly and provided compensation far above the average. We earned between $400-600 weekly, which while not much in comparison to all the bureaucrats, lawyers and professionals in DC, was still more than most had, or ever will, earn anywhere else in life. That being said, it's very sad to consider how little security we had, and how easily we could and were replaced, or how bleak the long term future prospects appeared.  In retrospect, it's surprising that most of what follows still applies to the business. 

The bicycle courier industry is a modern sweat shop industry.  Most bicycle couriers in the 1980s were considered independent contractors. This designation is an industry practice and has never been supported by the law. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service considers messengers employees even though the industry generally treats them as independent contractors. As a result, the IRS goes after messenger companies one at a time to force them to comply. It's getting better.

Bike couriers are often forced by their employers to sign contracts stating that they are self-employed. These contracts are one-sided and provide benefits and protections to the companies but none to the messengers. Bike messengers receive no protection from employment standards and labor laws. They are paid a commission on each package delivered. There is no minimum wage. Couriers receive no benefits.

They are not eligible for unemployment insurance or workers compensation. They can be fired with no notice. Bike messengers rely on their company to supply them with enough work to survive. Many companies over hire messengers, resulting in some people making much less than minimum wage. Messengers are charged for their two-way radio every day, regardless of whether they are off sick. If a messenger misses a day for any reason, they will not be paid for that day but will be charged for the radio. Some companies make money just by having so many messengers from which they can collect radio charges. Some firms will charge the messengers radio charges even if the messenger supplies his own radio.

Bike couriers have no control over the price for their service. A company can slash prices, offer a discount to new clients or offer service free of charge and there is nothing the messenger can do -except quit. And even then, if the messenger quits the company may attempt to hold their last check for a period of time, as punishment.

Many companies do not provide detailed records of their commissions to the messengers. This practice exposes the messengers to fraud by their companies. A company can charge the client $10 for a call, and report to the messenger that they only charged them $6. The messenger would receive commissions on the $6, when he (she) should receive commissions on the $10.

Many companies pressure messengers into unsafe practices that put the couriers in danger. For example, they may 'ask' messengers to take boxes on their handlebars. If the bike couriers refuse they may be punished by a lack of work, or a series of low paying calls, or even termination on the spot.

Sound like a job you'd want? I didn't think so. The alternative for me was a desk job in some bureaucracy or non-profit. I was too alive to volunteer for that fate, the pain of which was obvious from the stress and tension in the faces of those government mules.