Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Wins Record $131.5 Million from Doordash for Delivery Workers
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
I will let our commissioner add some specific details, but before doing so, what I will say is you are correct that this is about roughly 260,000 workers. Of those, more than 27,000 will be receiving more than $1,000. About a little over 4,000 will receive more than $5,000. And what this speaks to is not only the largest delivery workers' settlement action in municipal history, but also New York City's largest-ever labor enforcement action. And what is so exciting is, as you've heard other speakers say today, we know that more than $115 million will go directly to workers. And then of the remaining $16 million — it's civil penalties, it's costs, it's also the kind of investment that is required to create the app that the workers will now be able to use to record their experience with DoorDash. Because what we're looking for is to not just protect these workers, not just to protect the incredible worker who stepped forward, but also to protect every worker that joins this workforce in the days, weeks, months and years to come. Commissioner, if you want to add anything —
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceAnd just before we go to the next question, I want to just add that this is also part of a larger commitment to holding these delivery companies accountable. You have heard many of us on this stage and beyond speak about the importance of interrogating the algorithms that are behind the incentives for delivery workers when they make their deliveries and what they are pushed to do. I just want to invite up our City Council member, Shaun Abreu, who's been a real champion and [has] focused on how to hold these kinds of companies accountable — in case you have anything you want to add.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think that they are all part of how we can protect workers, because we know that it is delivery workers who spend the most amount of hours on our streets. They are the most exposed to either the presence or the absence of street safety infrastructure. And we want to make sure that not only are delivery workers being paid for the work that they do, not only are we holding app companies accountable to the law here in our city, but also that delivery workers are safe when they are using our streets. And, you know, one of the reasons that I wanted to acknowledge our City Council member, Sandy Nurse, who was just here with us, was that one of the other things we've heard from delivery workers is: Can they access a bathroom? And the other day, when the mayor of Mexico City was here, we met with a number of members of the Workers Justice Project, and one of the things that they proudly showed was a bathroom access card, a reflection of the fact that here in New York City, it is now the law that if you are delivering for a restaurant, you are allowed to use the bathroom of that restaurant. So all of this to us is part and parcel of it. Commissioner, the question on the—
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI'll say it in short, and then I'll pass it over to the commissioner to say it in long. No.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe are seeing across a number of different companies and a number of different industries a pursuit of profit no matter the cost. And we want to make it very clear that it does not matter how profitable your company is, how large your company, you have to abide by the laws of New York City. They are not suggestions, they are requirements. And we are so appreciative of the workers who step forward and alert us to these violations because without them we would not have been able to put into place what is the largest labor settlement in New York City history. And I'll pass it over to the commissioner to your first question.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI've never heard someone describe $131.5 million settlement in that kind of a language. We are speaking about something that was sustained, something that was rampant for a quarter of a million workers, and something that would never have been acknowledged, let alone rectified, were it not for the courage of these very workers. And we also know that when workers step forward, they are typically not welcomed in doing so. That is why we are also making clear that if any worker is retaliated against for the use of the app that we are now developing alongside Workers Justice Project, we're going to fast-track the retaliatory proceedings. And to DoorDash, we want to make it very, very clear that we will continue to hold them accountable, as we will any other company, and we are not going to abide by the flagrant violation of the law. No matter the tone and the tenor of that kind of a statement. [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThe conversation as it pertained to policing was just a shared appreciation of the men and women of the NYPD. My remarks on Sunday at the U20 forum were about the importance of responding to potholes that need to be paved over, trees that need to be planted, the concerns that New Yorkers have on their block. But the conversation with the president was a much just broader appreciation.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWell, we all know that what the prime minister has said in that video is not true. What we do know to actually be the truth when it comes to the prime minister is that he is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. And as the prime minister, he is the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians. And that just a few days ago, his military killed an 11-year-old boy in what is deemed to be a safe zone in Gaza. So, that is what I have to say to his video. And then to your earlier question, as it pertains to Signal, you know, as I said alongside my chief counsel, our administration took corrective action to ensure that we're in accordance with the city's record-keeping laws. And I'm confident in the testimony that our administration is providing today, that it will be sufficient in answering the Council's questions. [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWhat we're speaking about would be the largest housing project in New York City since the early 1970s; the largest development in more than 50 years, which would construct 12,000 homes, 30,000 jobs. And as the president said himself yesterday, a significant number of those homes would be affordable to New Yorkers in terms of an intentional rate. And to me, this is such a priority because of the fact that when we look at the cost-of-living crisis in our city, the number one driver is a lack of housing. And I will do everything in my power to build more housing in this city. And working with the president to fulfill an idea that has existed for 50 to 60 years; that to me is clearly an example of what could be done
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWell, I think to quote the chief counsel, there are trainings and there are retrainings, and that will continue because for us, being in accordance with the record-keeping laws of the City is of paramount importance. I will defer to the chief counsel to answer more specifically to your question. When it comes to your first question, the focus of the conversation that I had with the president was New York City and New Yorkers. That is a conversation that spanned Sunnyside Yard, as the president said, about Haitian New Yorkers as well as an appreciation of our Police Department. And when it comes to the prime minister, though, I've made very clear where I stand on that.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, since you last asked me that question, I did visit the facility. I visited both Horizon and Crossroads. And we are firmly committed to not only providing the staff there with the support that they need but also ensuring that we are in full compliance because this is critically important in living up to not only the intent that we have of our administration, but also the importance of ensuring that we are providing all of the kinds of services that young people in detention need.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think it was maybe about a little more than a month ago. I can get back to you on the exact dates of it. What I observed there is both the improvements that our ACS staff have been able to deliver with newfound support, as well as the need for this to be something that is sustained. And we need to provide, not only, you know — I was able to go with a number of the New Yorkers who are being held there into something called Elite Lounge, where they're being taught skills about — I think on that day it was running what was effectively a coffee shop. I saw the recreation area. I saw the incredible artwork that a lot of those young people have come together to be a part of. There was also, they were preparing for a karaoke competition and so I heard a song that they were putting together. But to me, these are young people who at some point will be returning home, and we need to ensure that they are equipped with the skills, the education, the training, so that they can flourish in our society. We're committed to doing that.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, I want to be honest with you that that is exactly the reason why we're setting up the conversations at the highest level between our housing operations teams, as well as the White House, which is what the president and I agreed to do coming out of yesterday's meeting. It will be a focus, however, is developing that scale of housing, ensuring that a significant portion is affordable, and also constructing what will effectively be an entirely new neighborhood in New York City. Because, as we know, one of the most difficult things in our city is to find land. And what this project would do is effectively create new land by creating a structure atop what is currently a rail yard. And then to your first question, what I've said publicly and also said to the president is anything that could help a working New Yorker's life, that's what I want to focus on. That's what I want to talk about. And I appreciated the president's consideration of that when it comes to building more housing than we've seen in the city since the early 1970s, and the importance of stability in Haitian New Yorkers' lives and just how critical of a role they play in this city, not only as New Yorkers, but also as the New Yorkers who are oftentimes powering our economy, whether it is in health care, hospitality, construction. And I shared that I'm hearing this not only from those New Yorkers, not only from my personal experiences of seeing and meeting these New Yorkers, but also from their pastors, from developers, from the executives of hospitals, from across the board in the city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceIt's a wide-spanning conversation. Housing tends to be the focus. Thank you all very much.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Wins Record $131.5 Million from Doordash for Delivery Workers.