Food Delivery Workers’ Secret Weapon: Support From a Union
More than 2,000 food delivery workers biked from Times Square to Foley Square on Wednesday afternoon, briefly shutting down traffic on Broadway, to demand better wages and protections from the tech giants that run delivery app platforms.
Los Deliveristas Unidos had rallied before — but this time, the workers who spoke were joined by a powerful new ally: the city’s largest union of service workers. The union executive who spoke from the stage on behalf of SEIU 32BJ vowed: “We’re going to win together.”
The commitment from the 32BJ — the same union instrumental in winning city fast food workers an unprecedented $15 minimum wage six years ago — could be a game-changer for the Deliveristas.
As gig workers who pick up jobs by the swipe, they are not presently eligible to join a traditional union shop. But organized labor’s advocacy, legal support and political muscle could help power them to improved wages and working conditions.
“I’m here to tell you that we have your backs. We are going to win this fight together, we were going to win this fight, just like we took on fast food,” 32BJ Union Secretary-Treasure Marty Pastreich said in Foley Square Wednesday. “And we’re gonna win. We’re going to win job protections. We’re going to win fair wages, we’re going to win together.”
Behind-the-Scenes Help
The 85,000-plus-member building workers’ union has struck innovative labor deals, winning living wage requirements tied to real estate development and securing a breakthrough pay boost and benefits for workers at the Port Authority’s area airports.
Local 32BJ SEIU has been meeting with the Deliveristas behind the scenes for months, providing legal, legislative and other advocacy support, according to people involved.
Los Deliveristas Unidos, a collective of mostly Indigenous Guatemalan and Mexican food delivery workers, formed during the pandemic as demand for deliveries soared.
The workers banded over their increasing agitation at their status as contracted workers with few rights, small wages, and lack of access to bathrooms. The group is part of the Workers Justice Project, a Brooklyn-based day laborer advocacy organization.
The 32BJ support comes at a critical time for the workers as they assert their growing influence and seek to make the most of their elevated profile.
Since the group’s founding last year and coverage by THE CITY, the workers have won fast-track priority for COVID vaccinations. DoorDash, a multi-billion dollar delivery platform workers rely on and often despise, pledged to help relieve their strain through measures such as access to some restaurants’ restrooms.
“I think it’s wonderful that they’re supporting us,” delivery worker Sergio Ajche said of 32BJ.
“That we have this big, well-positioned and influential organization standing with us in solidarity means a lot to us,” he told THE CITY in Spanish.
