The Ongoing Battles of “Deliveristas”
Delivery workers and cyclists in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Photo by Yunuen Bonaparte for palabra
Delivery workers in New York City find themselves at the center of debates over e-bike regulation and pedestrian safety. Advocates for their rights argue it's these workers who need more protection.
Haz clic aquí para leer este reportaje en español.
Gustavo Ajche arrived in New York City from his native Guatemala as a teenager in 2004, after a harrowing journey across Mexico to the U.S. border. Ajche, who spoke no English and had no home, found a job as a pizza delivery worker.
More than two decades later, Ajche is still a part-time “deliverista” — though now his delivery work comes through Relay, one of the many popular delivery apps that include DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub.
Recently, Ajche also found work in the construction industry after recognizing that working with delivery apps had become less reliable after the pandemic. He also cites the dangers of delivery work, such as risks of injury, unsafe roads and theft. “Delivery workers are the ones most exposed to injuries and theft (on the streets),” Ajche says.
Since the pandemic, app-delivery workers have increasingly populated the streets of major U.S. cities, with over 65,000 in New York City alone. This workforce, made up primarily of immigrants and people of color, lacks safety and wage protections in the largely unregulated gig economy.
Gustavo Ajche with his electric bicycle in Manhattan’s financial district. Photo by Yunuen Bonaparte for palabra
Ajche approached the Worker’s Justice Project (WJP), an advocacy group for low-wage immigrants he had been involved with since arriving in New York City, in 2020, after hearing that a group of gig workers had unionized in California. He proposed creating an initiative for deliveristas within WJP. That’s how he co-founded Los Deliveristas Unidos (LDU), which today has more than 4,000 members.
LDU has helped secure key rights for delivery workers in New York City, including bathroom access, tip transparency, and an unprecedented minimum pay rate. By the end of last year, delivery workers’ hourly earnings had increased by 64% compared to December 2023, rising from an average of $11.72 to an average of $19.56 after tips. However, deliveristas continue to fight new battles.
Currently, the organization is challenging Int. No. 606, a bill introduced in the New York City Council in March 2024 that proposes mandatory registration for e-bikes, mopeds and scooters with the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), a state entity. The bill would treat deliveristas’ primary mode of transportation like automobiles by requiring license plates. LDU director Luis Cortes says the registration fee for cyclists could cost around $20. However, according to the DOT’s testimony at a City Council hearing in December 2024, the exact registration fee has not been determined. Implementing the bill would cost the city an estimated $19 million.
Los Deliveristas Unidos (LDU) director Luis Cortes, at the Worker’s Justice Project office in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Photo by Yunuen Bonaparte for palabra
The bill has raised concerns among delivery workers about added regulations of their essential work tools. Activists warn that Int. No. 606 could increase racial profiling and put workers who lack legal status at greater risk, risk that could intensify under President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
“If this bill were passed, working on the streets would become even more complicated for us, the Latinos who do delivery work,” says Ajche. “Even without this law, we still deal with the police every day.”
The Debate Surrounding E-bike Regulation
Int. No. 606, also known as Priscilla’s Law, was introduced by NYC Council Member Robert Holden, a Democrat. This bill was named after Priscilla Loke, a 69-year-old pedestrian who died at the hospital in September 2023 after being struck by a Citi Bike (New York City’s bikeshare system) rider on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Police apprehended the unidentified cyclist, but he was soon released, reportedly after receiving a red-light ticket. The bill's advocates argue that requiring license plates for e-bikes would make it easier to hold cyclists, including delivery workers, accountable. A similar bill has been proposed at the state level.
In 2023, 2,400 pedestrians and cyclists were injured in New York City, and 20 were killed in crashes involving motorized vehicles, such as e-bikes and mopeds, according to the NYC DOT.
Supporters of Int. No. 606 include the NYC E-Vehicle Safety Alliance, a group with over 1,200 members advocating for e-bike and moped regulation. Co-founder Janet Schroeder, an Upper West Side resident, says she read Loke’s story in the news and spoke to elderly people in her neighborhood who were afraid to “go out the streets due to e-bikes.”
“I have no hidden agenda; I care about my neighbors who are afraid to walk on the street,” says Schroeder.
Delivery worker drives on the cyclist lane at a busy intersection on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Photo by Yunuen Bonaparte for palabra
Meanwhile, deliveristas argue that they would be among the most affected by this bill, as they rely on e-bikes daily to make a living and already find themselves in a precarious position. Cortes highlights the bureaucratic burden of the registration process, which would require time, money, and resources from both workers and the DOT. Delivery workers often share e-bikes, which Cortes argues would make licensing requirements difficult to enforce.
New York’s largely immigrant app-based delivery workforce includes many asylum-seekers, drawn to food delivery because signing up for these platforms is relatively easy. Deliveristas often face significant barriers, including limited English proficiency and lack of documentation, and Los Deliveristas Unidos confirms that a significant portion of delivery workers lack legal status.
Also, data shows Black and Latino people are disproportionately stopped, searched, and arrested during traffic stops, while language barriers hinder their ability to access justice or advocate for themselves.
Cortes warns that the bill would give law enforcement “unchecked power to stop workers and verify their identity.” He adds, “Riding without a license plate, not respecting a local law, could be considered a criminal offense, and that puts workers in a completely unnecessary risk of being reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).”
Brandon Chamberlin, an attorney at Adam D. White Law, which represents injured cyclists and pedestrians, believes Int. No. 606 is unlikely to pass. “I don’t think it solves the problem (of street safety) — the police already can and does ticket cyclists without even having a license plate,” explains Chamberlin.
Mopeds and e-bikes for sale in Sunset Park, a neighborhood in Brooklyn with sizable Latino and Chinese populations. Photo by Yunuen Bonaparte for palabra
A few jurisdictions in the U.S. have implemented bike licensing policies, including Montgomery County, Maryland. Toronto attempted bicycle licensing but later repealed it as ineffective, citing jurisdictional conflicts, misallocation of police resources and high costs.
Also, Chamberlin notes that mopeds — the vehicle that sponsors of the bill say they are most worried about — are already required to have a license plate under state legislation that took effect in January 2025.
The Riskiest Job In NYC
While delivery workers are at the center of the debate on pedestrian and cyclist safety and e-bike regulation in New York City, advocates argue they are the ones in need of more protection.
According to the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, as a result of accidents and robberies, delivery work has surpassed construction as the industry with the most fatality rates in the city, with 30 deaths per 100,000 workers between 2021 and 2022. The last data from the construction sector dates from 2020 and states 7 deaths per 100,000 workers in construction. In 2024 alone, 10 immigrant delivery workers died while on the job on the streets in New York City, according to WJP data.
Cyclists in lower Manhattan have to navigate busy intersections, sharing roads with other vehicles. Photo by Yunuen Bonaparte for palabra
Despite these risks, deliveristas and advocates say that app companies don’t do enough to protect workers. As independent contractors, delivery workers must cover all job-related expenses, including vehicle and health insurance. Holidays and sick days don’t exist for them. A WJP survey found that 49% of workers had experienced an accident or crash while performing deliveries, and 75% of them paid for medical care out-of-pocket.
Ajche also highlights algorithmic management systems, which he says set unrealistic delivery time predictions and penalize workers who miss deadlines, sometimes by deactivating their accounts. LDU says these tight deadlines encourage delivery workers to rush through the streets, putting themselves, pedestrians and other cyclists in danger.
Support the voices of independent journalists.
|
Organizations speaking out against Int. No. 606, including the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV), Transportation Alternatives and Make the Road, have urged New York City to work with app-based food delivery companies to find solutions without disproportionately burdening low-wage workers. These include education on traffic laws and public awareness campaigns for e-mobility devices.
Alia Soomro, deputy director for New York City Policy at the NYLCV, also recommends City-administered education and safety training programs for delivery workers, including technical support and access to incentives for purchasing safe and legal vehicles and equipment.
Other proposed safety measures include investing in bike infrastructure, such as separate protected bike and e-bike lanes on high-traffic routes, as well as double-wide bike lanes, to reduce illegal cycling on sidewalks and protect pedestrians. NYLCV also suggests rolling out more e-bike loading zones for deliveries and public e-bike charging stations.
A delivery worker on a moped zooms by a busy intersection on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Photo by Yunuen Bonaparte for palabra
Beyond the challenges posed by Int. No. 606, delivery workers are grappling with shift scheduling systems, recently introduced by apps, requiring workers to book work hours in advance. This new procedure has reduced weekly work hours, from 50-60 to just 10-15. Also, companies have removed pre-checkout tipping, meaning workers can only receive tips after an order is completed.
The City Council’s Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection has debated several bills — these include requiring delivery apps to verify that mopeds used by their delivery workers are properly registered and bringing back the option of tipping before or when an order is placed. LDU is also currently working on a campaign against immediate retaliatory deactivations of workers’ accounts; as Cortes states, sometimes the apps end up deactivating users' profiles without explanation simply because of a missed deadline.
Ajche remains hopeful that deliveristas will overcome these new challenges: “Sometimes I feel like I say the same thing over and over again,” he says, “but the work of our organization shows that change is possible.
Gustavo Ajche in Manhattan’s Financial District, one of his regular routes while delivering for a popular food app. Photo by Yunuen Bonaparte for palabra
—
Victoria Mortimer is an audience engagement journalist and freelance reporter covering social politics, culture, and immigration in New York. Previously, she worked for LA NACIÓN (Argentina) and the Financial Times. @vicmortimer
Yunuen Bonaparte is a photojournalist and visual editor based in New York. She is currently the art director at palabra. @_ybonaparte
Nathalie Alonso is a Cuban American journalist based in Queens, New York, where she was born and raised. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including National Geographic, Outside, Refinery29, AFAR, and TIME for Kids. She is also the author of several books for children, including “Hispanic Star: Sonia Sotomayor” and “Hispanic Star: Ellen Ochoa” (Roaring Book Press, 2023); “Old Clothes for Dinner?!” (Barefoot Books, 2024); and “Call Me Roberto!” (Calkins Creek, 2024). She is on the faculty for the Highlights Foundation. Since 2006, Nathalie has worked as an editorial producer, translator and reporter for LasMayores.com, the official Spanish language website of Major League Baseball. She received a B.A. in American studies from Columbia University. Learn more about her work at NathalieAlonso.com. @Nathalie_Writes