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Gig Workers Can’t Go on Unemployment — So They’re Turning to GoFundMe
People who have lost their income during the pandemic now turn to the crowdfunding platform for help
On Tuesday, March 17, Benjamin Majchrzak, the co-owner of a recording studio in St. Louis, Missouri, launched a GoFundMe campaign. “Many of the musicians and industry people involved [in my business] are staring down a long and scary tunnel with no potential income for a very long time now,” he wrote. “The purpose of this fund,” Majcrzak explained, “is to try to help alleviate that stress and fear.” Since then, the campaign has raised more than $2,500.
In an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus, events across the United States and beyond have been canceled, restaurants have shut down, and, in some places, all but the most essential of businesses have been ordered to close. Layoffs and work stoppages have followed in the shutdown’s wake. This is particularly terrifying for people who work as independent contractors and are typically ineligible for unemployment insurance. That includes most performers, creative freelancers, and Uber drivers.
Many have turned to the crowdfunding website GoFundMe in an attempt to compensate for their lost income and to help colleagues in need. Majchrzak writes that he plans to…
