New York, December 16 The city of New York held public hearings this Friday on its proposal to create a minimum wage for food delivery drivers for applications, where the disagreement with the platforms was revealed, as well as the fact that no all delivery drivers feel the same way.
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection presented a proposal last November for this sector, estimated to have more than 65,000 workers, to set the wage of $23.82 an hour for 2025, which was rejected by the “deliveristas “, as this group is known, than asking $5 more.
This Friday this sector defended its proposal, assuring that it is possible and that the city’s proposal does not meet its economic needs.
Ligia Gualpa, director of the Labor Justice Project, which represents delivery boys, said these workers, a large number of South American immigrants, must make an initial investment of about $10,000 to start working as delivery boys, and between $500 and $1,000. monthly for other needs not covered by the applications.
The Comptroller’s Office is backing the city’s proposal to be revised so that starting at least January 1, they start getting paid $15 an hour, which is the minimum wage in New York, and has also proposed that they get paid for the time they wait between calls to make a food delivery.
On the other hand, DoorDash, one of the applications for which the bellhops work, opposes the minimum wage proposal and its representatives have assured that this would lead to about 87 million losses for restaurants and about 29 million for their company in 2023 because the food orders would go down as the cost of delivery would go up.
During the hearing, a group of Relay application workers was also heard who opposed the minimum wage proposal, assuring that they had never had problems with the payment of their work and that the $12.50/hour they earn now can be converted, thanks to tips, into 40 and up to 50 dollars.
Other workers were also skeptical about the minimum wage and expressed concern that they would lose the flexibility they now have to create their own work schedule as they please, which for two delivery girls meant earning money by working part-time to pay bills and be able to to serve their customers, their children.
“The minimum wage proposal isn’t bad, but I think it limits people like me and our ability to be more flexible. I don’t have a problem with the raise, I just don’t think I’ll be able to work flexibly as a mom.” single as I’d like,” said a delivery girl.
“We need this money because we need flexibility,” he said.
