1 day Ago By Mallory Decker
In an announcement that's set to change the game for app-based delivery workers, New York City's Mayor Eric Adams has heralded the implementation of a new $21.44 hourly minimum wage before tips. This is the culmination of a policy, initiated in June 2023, that has been gradually phased in over time.
According to information from the Mayor's office, prior to the establishment of the minimum pay rate, delivery workers earned an average of $5.39 per hour before tips.The journey to this wage increase hasn't been smooth.
Delivery apps tried to overturn the increment, only to be consistently rebuffed by the courts. In the initial phase of the policy, a minimum pay rate of $17.96 was enforced following the New York State Supreme Court's September 2023 ruling in favor of the city.
Post an appeal by the apps, and subsequent rejection by the Appellate Division in late November, it became possible for the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) to fully enforce the minimum pay rate.The new rate of $21.44 accounts for not only the phased increases but also includes an additional inflation adjustment of 7.
41 percent. Mayor Adams expressed pride in his administration's pioneering efforts, stating, “Our first-in-the-nation minimum pay rate is doing exactly that, giving hundreds of millions of dollars back to deliver workers who drive at all hours of the day and through all types of weather to get New Yorkers the food and goods they need. We are proud to have not only spearheaded this groundbreaking policy, but to have made life easier for delivery workers and their families all across the five boroughs.
” The sentiment of actively improving delivery workers' economic status was echoed by DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga, who said, "Delivery workers, like all workers, deserve to be paid fair wages for their labor," as noted by the Mayor's office.Aside from the increase, there are other initiatives aimed at enhancing working conditions for delivery personnel. Mayor Adams has been instrumental in the establishment of public e-battery charging locations.
This effort is part of the broader "Charge Safe, Ride Safe: New York City's Electric Micromobility Action Plan," which has successfully reduced lithium-ion battery fire deaths by 72 percent since its rollout in 2023. According to the official announcement, this plan, together with the establishment of Deliveristas Hubs, is set to continuously improve conditions for the city's delivery workers.The advocacy and lobbying efforts for the welfare of delivery workers in the legislative sphere have not gone unnoticed, with New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar pointing out the work's importance: “Our 60,000-plus deliveristas make New York City run.
At any time and in all weather, they are out in the streets bringing us whatever we need. They are overwhelmingly immigrants working day and night to achieve the American Dream.” These sentiments were shared by various workers' rights organizations, including the Worker's Justice Project and Make the Road NY, which have both praised the metropolitan's move towards fair wages and the betterment of delivery workers' working conditions, according to the same press release.
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