NYC Mandates Minimum Wage for Food Delivery Workers

Facts

• Starting on July 12, app-based delivery workers in New York City will have to be paid at least $17.96 an hour, not including tips, making the city the first to mandate a minimum wage for delivery workers in the country.¹
• The new minimum is almost a three-fold increase of the current $7.09 average rate. NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who announced the move on Sunday, said that the minimum wage would affect all app-based restaurant delivery workers who work for companies such as Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash.²
• In addition to the increase in July, it was also announced that the minimum wage will again be increased to $19.96 an hour in April 2025 and that pay will be adjusted annually for inflation.³
• The city clarified that apps will be free to decide how their workers' wages are determined as long as the minimum pay is reached, with the mayor's office saying, "Apps have the option to pay delivery workers per trip, per hour worked, or develop their own formulas."⁴
• The apps affected by the pay increase criticized the change, with a Grubhub spokesperson saying that "while we believe New York City had good intentions," they're concerned the changes "will have serious adverse consequences for delivery workers in New York City.”⁵
• An earlier proposal by the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) called for an even more substantial pay increase, with the highest figure cited being an increase to $33.27 per hour.⁶

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²AOL, ³CNN, ⁴CBS, ⁵Yahoo Finance, and ⁶New York Post.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Verge. This pay increase is a win for workers as the price of living in New York City continues to rise and the gig economy continues to grow. Delivery workers have a tough job, and they deserve to be compensated fairly for their work. Though Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash agitated against the raise, effective organizations managed to help push the new minimum wage forward.
• Right narrative, as provided by Fox 5 New York. Though policies like this might seem like a good thing for workers, in reality, they actually hurt the economy, pushing the costs onto consumers who will consequently use their services less. Instead of working with delivery apps to find an effective solution, the city has acted unilaterally without any dialogue to prevent economic cascade effects.

Predictions