Dozens of delivery workers gathered outside City Hall on the 18th, urging the City Council to pass Bill 1332 (also known as the Delivery Worker Protection Act) to put an end to arbitrary account suspensions, disguised wage deductions, and lack of safety measures on delivery platforms. The workers pointed out that the current platform system has subjected frontline laborers to high risks for a prolonged period without proper avenues for complaints and remedies, calling for legislative intervention. The bill was passed by city council members on that evening.
Bill 1332 stipulates that delivery platforms cannot deactivate signed delivery worker accounts at will, and must have valid reasons or genuine economic factors for doing so. Suspension requires due process and advance notice, allowing workers to appeal or request investigation by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP). If found unjust, the platform must reactivate the account and compensate for lost income.
Mr. Chen, who has been working as a delivery rider in Manhattan for a long time, expressed concerns over the operating models of certain platforms such as Panda Delivery and Rice Ball Delivery. He pointed out that some platforms implement a dispatch mechanism that compresses delivery times significantly, forcing riders to run red lights and exceed speed limits, greatly increasing the risk of traffic accidents. “I have had accidents due to rushing to fulfill orders, and this is not uncommon in the delivery industry.”
Mr. Chen revealed that if orders are delayed, the platform continually issues warnings through the system and even reduces order assignments as a punishment, placing a dual psychological and economic burden on delivery workers. “This mechanism keeps people in a state of anxiety and fear in the long run, and the sacrifice is not only the safety of the delivery workers but also public safety.”
Also present to support the cause was Chinese delivery worker Mr. Li, who has been working in delivery in New York for over a decade. Mr. Li stated that following the implementation of minimum wage regulations, platforms effectively reclassify tips that should have gone to the delivery workers as subsidies, claiming it as a wage increase. “Tips are taken away and used to fill the minimum wage, presented as a raise to the public.”
He criticized the prevalent practice of “arbitrary account suspensions” by platforms, where even successful appeals often require starting from the lowest tier again in terms of order acceptance rates, punctuality, and ratings, which is highly unfair to long-term practitioners, shifting significant risks onto the workers.
Multiple delivery workers expressed their hope that Bill 1332 could serve as a critical turning point to compel platforms to establish transparent and fair account management and wage systems, and to genuinely implement protections for frontline laborers. They emphasized that delivery workers are not against reforms but refuse to continue being sacrificed under system loopholes.