New York City proposes $23.82 minimum hourly wage for restaurant delivery workers
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- A first of its kind plan proposing a minimum pay rate for app-based food delivery workers was announced Wednesday in New York City, but among the big questions are, who is going to pay for it?
New York City is proposing a minimum wage of $23.82 an hour for anyone working through an app like Grubhub or Door Dash.
For the food delivery workers it isn't exactly easy money.
"I don't know where the money is going," delivery worker Diva Djobo said.
Djobo says he gets paid a flat rate per delivery.
Taking an order from the Upper West Side to the Upper East Side will earn him only $6.
He makes on average $120 a day, for a 12-hour day. He says he makes about $10 an hour on a normal day.
Alpha Bah says the other problem, without a set wage, how much he earns an hour can fluctuate dramatically.
"Yeah it depends on how busy it is too and the distance to cover," Bah said.
That's why the City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection has proposed a first of its kind minimum pay rate for the 60,000 workers in the city.
$19.86 of that is a base rate, plus $2.26 to cover workers' expenses, and $1.70 to reflect the absence of workers compensation insurance.
Because delivery apps classify their workers as independent contractors, they do not receive a minimum wage or benefits.
In a statement a spokesperson for Uber Eats blasting the proposal saying: "The day after repealing a rule that was universally hated by TLC drivers, the city is proposing a nearly identical one for delivery workers that would force apps to block couriers from working when and where they want."
Managers say they have to sell to apps for a lesser price so that after all the fees are added on, the customer ends up paying the same price.
However, this means the restaurant is taking a hit.
There's now concern they may be pressured to sell to the apps for an even steeper discount.
A Door Dash spokesperson added: "Unfortunately, the proposed rule does not appropriately account for this flexibility or that dashers are able to choose which deliveries they accept or reject. Failing to address this could significantly increase the costs of delivery."
A public hearing on the proposal will be held on December 16 at 11 a.m.
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