Gonzalo Mercado of NDLO N testifies on delivery worker concerns
Gonzalo Mercado says some proposals will adversely impact delivery workers through increased NYPD interactions and confiscations, and calls for regulating algorithms and creating a transition plan.
Thank you, Majority Leader Abreu.
My name is Gonzalo Mercado with the National Day Labor and Organizing Network, ANDALON.
As a network of organizations that represent immigrant workers, ANDALON is encouraged by the New York City Council's commitment to ensure all workers can have a safe workplace and free from exploitation.
Delivery workers experience difficulties every day with every delivery they complete, such as injuries and fatalities, unjust deactivations, street crime, and e-bike theft.
Pressures from the apps to deliver faster, just to name a few.
While we strongly support measures to increase street safety, we are concerned that some of these proposals will adversely impact thousands of delivery workers.
We are particularly concerned about the following proposals due to the increased NYPD interaction that could result in widespread bike confiscations, deactivations,
and other adverse effects on delivery workers.
In addition, these proposals fail to regulate the algorithms that force workers to make deliveries as quickly as possible and do not create a transition plan for workers to be able to afford to make these changes.
Creating proposals that truly protect the safety of deliveristas and their workplace, the city streets, require conversations and planning with those workers themselves and the organizations that represent them.
The list below responds to each bill in more detail, which I have submitted.
But in the interest of time, we encourage the City Council to meet and discuss these concerns with delivery workers and advocates, such as our member organization, the Workers'Justice Project, along with the Deliveristas Unidos,
who have been at the forefront of the struggle to improve the lives of delivery workers exploited by giant multinational corporations.
We thank the New York City Council for the opportunity to offer this testimony, and we look forward to continuing collaborating to advance protections that can improve the lives of all New Yorkers.
Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony.
This panel is excused.
Next, we have Sarah Odea.
Baron Johnson.
Alexander Erdade, Tersa Crisp.
Gerardine Williams and Amy Yafet.
You may begin.
And please press the button, yes.