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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jose Jos, Member of Workers Justice Project and United Delivery Workforce
1:56:22
ยท
169 sec
Jose Jos, a delivery worker and member of the Workers Justice Project, testified about the challenges faced by delivery workers in New York City, particularly issues of exploitation, wage theft, and the need for stronger protections and enforcement. He emphasized the importance of funding for agencies like DCWP to enforce worker protection laws effectively.
- Highlighted personal experience with wage theft by DoorDash and how Workers Justice Project helped him recover his wages through DCWP
- Stressed the need for increased funding for DCWP and community organizations to support workers and enforce existing laws
- Called for recognition of delivery workers as essential to New York City and urged for more protections and opportunities for the workforce
UNKNOWN
1:56:22
My name is Jose Jos, and I am a member of the Workers Justice Project and or delivery person and leader of for United Delivery Workforce.
1:56:39
That's their name in English.
1:56:40
As a worker
Shekar Krishnan
1:56:41
The English version is in the back.
Jean Harriet English
1:56:43
As Oh, is there?
Salua Baida
1:56:44
Yeah.
1:56:46
Yeah.
UNKNOWN
1:56:47
A worker, I am very proud to offer a service to the community.
1:56:55
But as a worker, I have also faced many difficult situations in recent years.
1:57:01
I belong to a group of vulnerable workers who feel abused, exploited, and we don't write by a group of food delivery companies that have refused to recognize us as workers.
1:57:14
Because of our work, we also have to endure injustices like wage theft, of which I have been a victim.
1:57:21
This was mainly with the company DoorDash, which withheld my wages, leading to a cascade of negative consequences for my family.
1:57:32
It was on the streets that I met the Workers Justice Project organization, its leaders and organizers who informed me of my rights and how I could help transform the industry by denouncing these injustices.
1:57:47
They also helped me fight my first wage theft complaint with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, DCWP, where we, a group of workers, demanded the payment that had been indefinitely withheld by this company and where I was able to recover what had been taken from me.
1:58:07
Today, as a worker, I realize that local government agencies and community organizations are essential to ensuring our rights are of help.
1:58:18
The current reality is that neither the DCWP nor WJP have the sufficient funding to provide all the necessary support for cases of abuse.
1:58:29
And without this funding, the laws that protect us as deliveristas end up being meaningless.
1:58:38
Our fight is focused on more protections.
1:58:41
But if we have an agency that does not have the capacity to enforce these protections, the ones who will be affected are the thousands of workers who will have nowhere to turn in their most critical moments.
1:58:53
I want to thank the members of this committee for listening to me and for recognizing that the ingredient workforce is and will continue to be essential for keeping New York City moving, creating progress, equity and more opportunities.
1:59:10
Thank you very much.