City Council votes to override Mayor Eric Adams’ vetoes on delivery legislation.

Mayor Eric Adams recently vetoed two significant City Council bills aimed at securing the city’s minimum wage for grocery delivery workers. This decision, unless overridden by the City Council, will keep numerous essential workers in New York City earning wages that fail to meet basic living standards.

The vetoed legislation, which garnered strong support in the City Council last month, was developed over several years of advocacy. It sought to extend the successful minimum wage standards established for restaurant delivery workers to include those working for companies such as Instacart, GoPuff, and Amazon. Despite this progress, the mayor has aligned himself with an Instacart-backed lobbying effort that argued the bills would exacerbate food insecurity for low-income New Yorkers.

Food insecurity remains a pressing issue in New York City; however, the inflated cost of grocery delivery services—often 30% to 50% higher than in-store shopping—cannot be solely attributed to the wages of delivery workers. Comprehensive analysis indicates that low wages are a primary contributor to worker instability in this sector.

Instacart’s classification of its workers as independent contractors, exploiting loopholes within labor laws, positions many employees well below the city’s .50 minimum wage. According to reports, restaurant delivery employees were earning just .12 on average, including tips, and .03 without tips under pre-existing conditions. There is little evidence to suggest that grocery delivery workers fare better under the current wage structure.

Since the implementation of the restaurant delivery worker pay standard, average costs for services like DoorDash and Uber Eats have only increased marginally—from .55 to .44—tracking closely with inflation. Furthermore, industry predictions of significant declines in delivery orders have not materialized; in fact, the total number of deliveries has seen consistent growth throughout 2024, showing that fair pay does not hinder consumer demand.

Notably, over 90% of New York City’s delivery workforce belongs to marginalized communities, and the new wage standards have proven effective in lifting these workers’ earnings to at least the minimum wage. This development underscores the positive outcomes of policy aimed at supporting low-wage workers.

Critics of the mayor’s veto are questioning the rationale behind allowing grocery delivery workers, who engage in tasks nearly identical to those of other delivery personnel, to earn less than the city-mandated minimum wage. They also contend that all workers in related fields, such as cashiers and warehouse staff, should benefit from similar wage protections.

The push to veto these bills is widely perceived to be fueled by a newly established advocacy group, New Yorkers for Affordable Groceries, which presents itself as a coalition of delivery workers and concerned citizens but is largely funded by Instacart. This group has published a range of opinion pieces, including those featuring prominent figures who suggest that raising delivery worker wages would harm food affordability for vulnerable populations.

However, many understand that Instacart’s opposition is not genuinely aimed at protecting low-income New Yorkers but rather focused on safeguarding their own financial interests against legislative reforms.

The actions taken by Mayor Adams stand in stark contrast to the initiatives previously supported by his administration to enhance wages for delivery workers. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection successfully advocated for raising restaurant delivery worker pay, implementing a minimum wage similar to that proposed for grocery delivery personnel.

The rejection of fair pay for delivery workers will not alleviate grocery costs for struggling families but will instead perpetuate a cycle of poverty for thousands. New Yorkers deserve both affordable food options and livable wages for the individuals responsible for delivering them. Opportunities remain for the City Council to challenge this veto and promote a fairer and more equitable workforce.