Salary increase for food delivery workers

NEW YORK (EFE).— The mayor of New York, Eric Adams, announced that the first salary increase for food delivery drivers for applications, known in the city as “deliveristas”, came into effect, going from 18.96 to $19.56 per hour.

“Our delivery drivers have consistently delivered for us, and today the city is delivering for them,” Adams said.

When the rate is fully implemented on April 1, 2025, workers will earn at least $19.96 per hour with an adjustment for inflation, he said in a joint statement with Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Vida Mayurga.

Prior to the approval of the law in June 2023, the applications Uber, DoorDash, Eats and Grubhub only paid these workers about $5.39 per hour because they consider them independent contractors and not employees, so they did not pay them a minimum wage. nor reimbursement of expenses, overtime or other benefits such as medical insurance.

After New York City approved the new rates, shipping companies went to court to prevent the new minimum wage from taking effect, but the court ruled in favor of the workers, estimated to number more than 60,000.

Since the Department of Consumer Protection began enforcing the new wage in December 2023, the apps have paid delivery drivers $16.3 million more per week, a 165% increase, for a total of $847.6 additional million a year, the statement added.

The ‘deliveristas’ have denounced, after the entry into force of the law last December, that they face application blocks that prevent them from entering the application to start working or measures that prevent them from collecting their tips, in retaliation for their intense struggle to obtain better working conditions

Workers are now asking the City Council (legislative) to take action by passing protections to prevent app blocking.