REMARKS
Council Member Julie Menin's opening remarks on expanding delivery worker protections
0:00:40
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3 min
Council Member Julie Menin, chair of the committee on consumer and worker protection, provides opening remarks for a hearing on two proposed bills aimed at expanding protections for delivery workers. She outlines the growth of delivery services, the current state of worker protections, and introduces the new legislation being discussed.
- Intro 1133 would expand delivery worker protections to all contracted delivery workers who deliver goods for a delivery service.
- Intro 1135 would require third-party grocery delivery services to pay their workers a minimum pay rate equal to or exceeding the rate for food delivery workers.
- Menin highlights the success of previous legislation in increasing food delivery worker pay, with an average increase of 279% in Q2 compared to the previous year.
Julie Menin
0:00:40
Good morning, everyone, or I should say good afternoon.
0:00:42
My name is Julie Mannen, chair of the committee on consumer and worker protection.
0:00:46
Thank you so much for joining us for today's hearing.
0:00:49
I, first of all, want to acknowledge my colleagues who are here, council member Breaoux and council member Nurse.
0:00:55
In recent years, ecommerce has transformed the way that New Yorkers shop for food, for groceries, and for other products.
0:01:04
Delivery services were gaining traction before the COVID pandemic, but the pandemic certainly supercharged their growth as consumers embraced online shopping and delivery as a safe and convenient alternative to in store shopping.
0:01:20
Although the pandemic has subsided, the use of delivery services has not.
0:01:25
Many delivery services rely on independent contractors to complete deliveries.
0:01:30
When delivery services classify their workers as independent contractors instead of as full time employees.
0:01:38
They are not required to pay delivery workers minimum wage, overtime, or other benefits such as, of course, health insurance.
0:01:45
In 2021, the council passed a package of legislation to provide better wages and better working conditions for third party food delivery workers, the largest segment of contracted delivery workers with an estimated 60,000 workers.
0:02:01
Among other protections, these laws require the delivery services to provide delivery workers the opportunity to set a maximum distance per trip and the ability to decline to accept trips over bridges or tunnels, establish a minimum pay rate for third party food delivery workers, and require that the food delivery applications include provision and contracts with restaurants requiring them to make their toilet facilities available for delivery workers use as long as the delivery worker seeks to access the facilities while picking up a food or beverage order for delivery.
0:02:37
That legislation had an impact on pay in the Q2 of this year through third party food delivery worker pay per hour averaged $19.88, a 279% increase from the same quarter just a year prior when the minimum pay standard had not gone into effect.
0:02:57
However, the delivery worker legislation only covered those workers that contract with third party food delivery platforms.
0:03:04
The legislation we are hearing today will expand the protections we've afforded food delivery workers to cover all contracted delivery workers.
0:03:13
Intro number 1133, sponsored mem sponsored by council members Gutierrez and Nurse would expand delivery worker protections to cover all contracted delivery workers who deliver goods for a delivery service.
0:03:27
Intro number 1135, sponsored by council members Nurse and Gutierrez would require third party grocery delivery services to pay their grocery delivery workers a minimum pay rate that would meet or exceed the minimum pay rate established by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection that must be paid to food delivery workers.
0:03:47
I look forward to this afternoon's hearing.
0:03:50
I look forward to testimony from the commissioner and the administration and other stakeholders who have come today.
0:03:57
I'm now gonna turn it over to council member Nurse for her opening statement.
0:04:01
Thank you.
