DoorDash said Monday does something different in New York City: It employs about 60 people as workers, not independent contractors. Carriers will travel by electric bicycle to deliver quickly – within 10 to 15 minutes – to the Manhattan area of Chelsea. This function is the first sign of DoorDash joining the new “instant” shipping program. Few competing companies, including European startups Monkeys, Buyk, and Jokr, have been working in New York since late summer, and they have also recruited dispatchers as employees to complete their dispatch as soon as possible.
DoorDash, like other “gig economics” companies that came out in 2010, often relies on a team of gig workers to deliver goods. Drivers or cyclists enter the app to work when they want, and leave when they want, the flexibility that DoorDash claims is attractive to many of its carriers. Ninety percent of “Dashers” work less than 10 hours a week, according to Max Rettig, vice president of the world. But they do get a minimum of full-time job security: health insurance, workers’ compensation, paid leave, or eligibility for unemployment benefits. Gig workers should also buy and repair their own equipment, including cars, bicycles, and special bags to keep food warm. In most cases, they do not get paid for the time they spend on the app waiting for new orders.
This completely changed the number of DoorDash employees when the company began operating a “dark store” in Manhattan on Monday morning. Only DoorDash employees, as well as employees, and shippers are allowed to enter the “DashMart” store, which is one of about 25 people worldwide. Through staff, DoorDash expects to ensure that there is a person to place any entry order in the 10 to 15 minute guaranteed window.
The result will be “two heads of [delivery] co-workers on the street, ”says Hildalyn Colón, program manager for Los Deliveristas Unidos. group representing 4,000 mainly people from Central America and Mexico who provide software applications in New York City. “Why do you treat them differently?”
Gustavo Ajche, a GrubHub and DoorDash cyclist and director of Los Deliveristas Unidos, says that even couriers will not have enough security to be safe while performing their duties. Delivery companies are “forcing employees to go fast and pay something in less than 15 minutes,” he says. “It’s dangerous, it’s not dangerous for workers.” Twelve aid workers have died on the streets of New York City in 2021, according to Los Deliveristas Unidos. Last year, 24 New York cyclists were killed in traffic accidents, and more than 5,000 were injured.
First-time couriers work about 25 hours a week, says DoorDash’s Rettig. They should receive benefits, but only those who come with part-time work. These include travel benefits, access to an employee support program that will provide temporary advice and monitoring, as well as access to DashPass, a DoorDash membership program that provides members with a limited amount of cash to deliver their ordered meals. Full-time employees will also receive medical, dental, and vision insurance, and will be able to afford to pay.
Shippers will receive $ 15 per hour plus accessories, and receive free bicycles, hats, jackets, and other shipping equipment. They will be hired through a new DoorDash company called DashCorps.