The fight is far from over

New York City this week announced its long-awaited plan to set a minimum pay rate for app-based restaurant delivery workers. It will be the first such standard to take effect in the United States — Seattle passed one in 2022, but it won’t be enforced until early next year. Under New York’s new regulations, people delivering food for such apps as DoorDash, Uber, Postmates, and Grubhub will make at least $17.96 an hour before tips starting July 12. By 2025, the rate will rise to $19.96 an hour. “Our delivery workers have consistently delivered for us — now, we are delivering for them,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. 

Los Deliveristas Unidos, which has campaigned for better pay for years, called the change a big victory for delivery workers, whom the city said had been making an average of $7.09 an hour before factoring in tips. The broader city minimum wage is $15 an hour, and it will increase to $16.50 within two years. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is calling for a nationwide $17 minimum wage. New York City’s new rules will give companies the option of paying workers by the trip or by the minute. “This is something huge for us,” Deliveristas leader Gustavo Ajche told MarketWatch. He said the pay bump will help the city economy, too, because “a lot of workers will have more money to provide for their families.” 

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