Food delivery companies to fund FDNY's lithium-ion battery safety campaign
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The FDNY is teaming up with food delivery companies to promote a campaign teaching people about the dangers of lithium-ion batteries.
Uber Eats, GrubHub, and DoorDash will each donate $100,000 to the FDNY.
The $300,000 will help fund a public education campaign to teach and educate New York e-bike drivers about the dangers of knock-off lithium-ion batteries.
So far, the batteries have caused 66 fires and five deaths this year.
The FDNY and the FDNY Foundation say they encourage the public to safely use and handle lithium-ion batteries to prevent fires.
But the delivery workers that Eyewitness News talked to want more and insist these billion-dollar companies can and should spend more money to make delivery work safer.
"Uber and GrubHub, DoorDash have the money and should spend it for delivery workers on the real issues," delivery worker William Medina said.
Eyewitness News reporter Michelle Charlesworth showed the donation announcement to Ligia Guallpa, who runs the 'Workers Justice Project' in Brooklyn. She is an advocate for delivery workers.
"We need more than education. We need infrastructure, honest pay, and we need to a program to swap out the dangerous batteries for certified ones," Guallpa said.
She says education and information are not the problem and says delivery workers know all about the batteries.
She explains that delivery workers are worried about where they will live because landlords are worried about e-bike charging fires and don't want them in apartments.
Another delivery worker, Antonio Martínez, talked about that as well.
Delivery workers, Medina and Martínez, say workers know the $200 refurbished and knock-off batteries are dangerous. But they don't have the $2,000 required, $1,000 each, to buy two safer batteries.
They would like to share more information with the delivery companies, and the city, to make everyone safer.
The FDNY says it will continue to work with Federal, State, local, and industry partners to look for solutions and spread awareness. For more information and safety tips, visit fdnysmart.org.
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