Op-Ed | Delivering fair pay to New York City’s delivery workers

Since day one, our administration has had a clear mission, protect public safety, rebuild our economy, and make our city more livable for hard-working New Yorkers.

Every day, we are delivering on that vision. We’ve recovered all the private-sector jobs lost during the pandemic, one year ahead of schedule; overall crime is down in our city this year; and our city is getting cleaner and greener.

But we know that our economic recovery hasn’t reached everyone, and it has not benefitted everyone equitably. That is why we are doing everything we can to make sure New York City remains a city for working-class people.

Last week, our administration delivered a well-deserved pay raise for our app-based food delivery workers. Delivery workers who work for UberEATS, DoorDash, and Grubhub will now receive at least $19.56 per hour before tips. This is fair pay for a fair day’s work. This means that more than 60,000 of the hardest-working New Yorkers out there will have their wages boosted.  

This puts money back into the pockets of delivery workers, it puts dinner on the table, it helps pay their mortgages, and it supports working families, especially those struggling to get by, across the five boroughs.

Delivery workers are an essential part of our city, but just months ago, they were making an average of just $5.39 per hour before tips.

Our administration knew this was unacceptable, so, in June 2023, we announced the nation’s first minimum pay rate rule for app-based food delivery workers. Since this new pay rate went into effect, delivery workers have already seen a 165 percent increase in their pay per week and they are earning nearly $850 million more annually.

And this minimum pay rate is increased to reflect inflation, because we know that New Yorkers continue to feel the burden of the cost of living. People are working harder and harder to get by. I know the hustle is real. I know what it is like to struggle. I was raised by a working mother who struggled to support my five siblings and me. Thousands of our delivery workers are doing the same to support themselves and their families every day.

But we also know that there is more to be done. We have heard that some delivery apps are making it harder to tip and that some apps are locking out workers from shifts. This is wrong, and we made that very clear last week when we stood with our Deliveristas and delivery workers.

That is why we are pioneering first-of-its-kind hubs where our food delivery workers can take shelter from inclement weather, rest, and recharge their cellphone or e-bike batteries.

And it is why we announced five public e-battery charging locations to test safe, public charging of lithium-ion batteries for 100 delivery workers.

That is also why we plan to create the Department of Sustainable Delivery. This will be a first-in-the-nation entity that regulates new forms of delivery transit and helps keep our workers and our streets safe.

We know that when things get tough, we must invest in our most valued asset: our people.

This is how you build a city where all New Yorkers share in our prosperity, no matter what line of work they are in, or what borough they live in. We are delivering fair pay for working-class New Yorkers.