New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood up for some 80,000 delivery workers on Thursday, announcing that the city was taking legal action against a delivery app service that allegedly stole their income.
Mamdani said the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection is filing a lawsuit against Motoclick after receiving dozens of driver complaints, claiming the company has been stealing tips, charging workers illegal fees and violating minimum wage laws.
“Dignity is not abstract and criminals are not elusive,” Mamdani said. “They are companies that profit from this labor and then immediately take their money away from these workers.”
He also warned that other apps could be the next target and wants to hold other companies like DoorDash and Uber Eats accountable for making it more difficult for customers to tip drivers, costing them as much as $550 million in lost tips.
“We will no longer tolerate corporate mistreatment of workers across the five boroughs, so we sent warning letters to 60 app companies warning them that new laws to protect workers will come into effect on January 26 this year and that these laws will be enforced,” Mamdani said.
Alejandro has provided 10 years of experience in a variety of applications.
“They’re giving us long hauls in rain or snow, impossible delivery estimates, and punishing us for slowing down for safety,” he said.
To ensure equity at City Hall and throughout the City, the Mayor appointed Afua Atta-Mensah as Chief Equity Officer and Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice.
“It won’t be easy to reinvent a system that has too long created barriers instead of gateways to opportunity,” Atta-Mensah said. “But as the mayor has made clear, this administration is committed to doing big things, and doing them boldly.”
Arva Rice is president of the New York Urban League and a member of Mamdani’s transition advisory team.
“I think the Mamdani administration has demonstrated their commitment to working-class New Yorkers and today specifically to African-Americans, and I’m certainly pleased about that,” Rice said. “But this is just the beginning. We will work with him and provide feedback and criticism as necessary to ensure that he continues to work on behalf of working-class New Yorkers.”
Eyewitness News has reached out to Motoclick for comment but has yet to receive a response.
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