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PUBLIC TESTIMONY

Testimony by Luis Cortes, Director of Los Deliveristas Unidos (LDU), on Delivery Worker Protections

0:49:53

·

135 sec

Luis Cortes, Director of Los Deliveristas Unidos (LDU), testifies in support of Intro 1133 and Intro 1135, which aim to expand protections for delivery workers in New York City. He emphasizes the urgent need for these protections and the importance of extending minimum wage requirements to all delivery workers.

  • Cortes highlights the struggles of delivery workers as independent contractors, including lack of benefits and the need to cover their own operating costs.
  • He warns about potential retaliation from app-based companies, such as introducing opaque payment systems and arbitrarily deactivating workers.
  • Cortes calls for preparedness to respond to such retaliation tactics from companies like DoorDash, Uber, and Grubhub.
Luis Cortes
0:49:53
Good afternoon.
0:49:54
My name is Luis Cortes.
0:49:55
I'm the director of LDU, the organizing campaign launched by the worker justice project in 2020 to protect the rights and safety of New York City 65,000 app delivery workers.
0:50:08
Thank you, to this community for providing the opportunity to speak on this important matter.
0:50:12
I'm here to speak in support of intro 1133 and 1135.
0:50:17
LDU is proud to have pioneered the historic protection for ad delivery workers that are basic basis for, the bill before this committee today.
0:50:26
This is an opportunity to act urgently.
0:50:29
The longer we wait to, to provide such protections, the more we expose these, essential workers to needless risk and labor abuse.
0:50:38
In particular, the minimum wage requirement through into 11:35 will extend real material benefits to all delivery workers, regardless of who contracts them or what good they carry, just as it has, done for app based delivery workers who deliver from restaurants.
0:50:57
Minimum pay is essential for delivery workers.
0:50:59
As independent contractors, deliveries struggle.
0:51:02
Deliveries does struggle to afford their own operating cost while generating 1,000,000,000 of dollars in revenue for the app companies.
0:51:10
They do this without employee benefits, medical insurance, or safety protections, relying on themselves to purchase expensive vehicles and equipment to ensure their livelihood.
0:51:22
We strongly support this bill as a critical extension of the right to a living wage for all delivery workers.
0:51:27
However, our experience has taught us that the app based companies will retaliate against any attempt at regulation.
0:51:37
History history has shown that they will find ways to scroll, compliance with the minimum pay requirement, including by introducing opaque payment and scheduling system, locking out workers, deactivating them arbitrarily, and by making it harder for customer to provide tips.
0:51:54
We must be prepared and respond to such retaliation, such as we have with DoorDash, Uber, Growhub by introducing bills around tipping pay, and I'm just gonna ask
UNKNOWN
0:52:05
you to please please,
Luis Cortes
0:52:06
Randell.
0:52:06
Deactivations.
UNKNOWN
0:52:07
Thank you.
Julie Menin
0:52:08
Thank you very much.
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