(NewsNation) — Delivery workers in New York City have racked up more than $100 million in tips since the end of January, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced.
The city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) began enforcing the tipping protections after working with the New York City Council for three years to pass a new law strengthening rights for contracted grocery and food delivery workers.
Mamdani says the new law will contribute to an additional $184 million annually in tips, or about $2,287 more each year for the average worker.
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“For years, delivery apps buried the tip button to pad their own bottom line, and delivery workers paid the price,” he stated in a news release. “We changed the law, enforced it, and it’s working: $104 million has gone back into the pockets of the workers who keep this city fed, rain or shine. New York will not allow billion-dollar tech companies to boost their profits by taking money from working people.”
Four weeks after the law went into effect, the city said there was a noticeable impact, including delivery workers earning an average of $1.18 per delivery and average tips increasing to $2.29 per delivery.
“The data is clear: allowing consumers the clear ability to tip hardworking deliveristas benefits our workers and strengthens our economy,” added DCWP Commissioner Samuel A.A. Levine.
The city also acknowledged that since December 2023, delivery workers’ total hourly earnings increased from $10.48 per hour to $27.32 per hour. Its minimum pay standard have also contributed over $2 billion in additional earnings for delivery workers.
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