Dozens of Candidates to City Council: Expand Paid Sick Leave to Gig Workers Now
NEW YORK – At a press conference outside City Hall today, Council Member Brad Lander, a candidate for New York City Comptroller, and a dozen candidates for City Council and other elected offices called for a vote on Intro. 1926, legislation to expand NYC’s Earned Safe and Sick Leave Law to cover app-based gig workers and some other independent contractors. 30 candidates signed on to a letter urging City Council Speaker Johnson to bring the bill for a vote. A video of the event is available here.
Legislation that Council Member Brad Lander introduced last spring, Intro. 1926, would expand the definition of an employee for the purpose of covering gig workers like delivery workers for Doordash and Seamless, Uber and Lyft drivers, Instacart shoppers, and other misclassified workers including nail salon technicians and construction day laborers who have been working in-person during the pandemic. The bill was heard in committee on May 7, 2020, alongside a package of legislation to protect essential workers, but has not been brought up for a vote more than 11 months later.
“More than 140,000 gig workers have been working on the frontlines of the pandemic, but because the City Council has failed to take action, none of them have been able to take a paid sick day. The City Council has the power to pass good public health policy that will directly benefit some of the most essential and overlooked New Yorkers. Stop playing politics Speaker Johnson, bring the bill up for a vote,” said City Council Member Brad Lander, candidate for New York City Comptroller.
The legislation would enable gig workers to accrue paid hours off just like all other workers under the City’s existing paid sick leave law. The expansion would apply to app-based delivery workers, for hire vehicle drivers, nail salon technicians, and some construction day laborers.
30 candidates for city council and other elected offices signed a letter urging Speaker Johnson to bring the legislation up for a vote. The letter and signatories is available here.
Council candidates spoke about the challenges facing delivery workers, and other app-based workers, predominantly immigrants and people of color, who have been very exposed to the virus and hard hit by the pandemic economic crisis. The candidates were joined by workers rights advocates from Workers Justice Project which organize with app-based delivery workers and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which works with Uber, Lyft, and other for-hire drivers.
"Gig workers delivering food and shopping for others at the grocery store are mostly immigrants and people of color working precarious jobs for low pay. They have shown up for our city during this pandemic, now is the time for us to show up for them," said Council Member Antonio Reynoso, candidate for Brooklyn Borough President. "I'm grateful to Brad for bringing this bill forward -- the City Council has the power to enable frontline workers to take a paid sick day, we should act now to do so."
“Our city has relied on essential workers to provide services through the pandemic and long before, and in return, these workers deserve dignity and workplace protections like everyone else. No one should have to choose between going to work sick and bringing back this deadly disease to their families and paying rent or putting food on the table. I’m proud to co-sponsor this extension of paid sick leave for delivery workers, day laborers, and nail salon workers because if we’re truly committed to creating a city that works for all, we prioritize workers' lives,” said Jimmy Van Bramer, Deputy Leader of the New York City Council and candidate for Queens Borough President.
“Repairing the damage brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic requires structural changes and prioritizing investments that strengthen public institutions and reduce inequality across the board, particularly in healthcare and the care economy. This is most critical in rebuilding for years to come. Healthcare is a right that must be accessible to everyone," said NYC mayoral candidate Dianne Morales. "I join in today to demand Speaker Johnson to do more to protect our essential and gig workers, as well as domestic workers, by expanding paid sick to include them. Nobody should have to decide between being sick and safe at home versus being paid."
"In my industry, we're conditioned to believe ‘The show must go on!’ But as an arts worker and labor leader, I know all too well that this often means ‘You're expected to work when you're sick.’ People get sick. All of us. It's a fact of life. And when we do, we should be able to take time away from work—for the benefit of ourselves, our coworkers, and the people we serve. That's both common sense and good public policy. Just like so many of the workers I represent, gig workers have for too long been denied basic rights and protections like paid sick leave. It's time for the City Council to change that." said Jeffrey Omura, candidate for City Council District 6.
“Our gig workers have been left out of the conversation for far too long. As a gig worker myself I understand first hand the importance of having paid sick leave. We must ensure all workers are provided protections and their health and well-being is taken care of.” said Marti Gould Allen-Cummings, candidate for City Council District 7.
“We should have learned from the pandemic that paid sick leave is essential for everyone. No one, and especially not workers we all depend on, should have to choose between either putting food on the table and paying the rent or being forced to work while sick. This is not just an issue of justice and decency, but also public health. It’s in everyone’s interest that people who are ill stay home and don’t risk spreading an illness. It’s past time for the City Council to pass Intro 1926.” said Mino Lora, candidate for City Council District 11.
"After a historic win at the state level to distribute $2.1 billion in funds for excluded workers, it's time for our city to go the extra mile.” said Jaslin Kaur, candidate for City Council District 23, “Extending paid sick leave in New York City is a matter of public health and racial justice for our gig workers, including the deliveristas, day laborers, and taxi drivers who have kept our city running during the pandemic. As the daughter of two frontline workers, I am proud to support Intro 1926."
“District 25 is home to thousands of gig workers who have put their health and livelihood at risk time and time again to keep our City running. Our workers have sacrificed so much and deserve the dignity of paid sick leave. I stand alongside my fellow City Council candidates and Council Member Brad Lander to demand that Intro. 1926 be brought to a vote,” said Carolyn Tran, candidate for City Council District 25
"As if the pandemic hasn't made it obvious enough - no matter what type of tax form you file at the end of the year - if you're a New Yorker who works for a living, you should be entitled to staying home when you're sick - basta. We will win our battle against the attempted billion-dollar Big Tech takeover of our economy, and that starts with passing Council Member Lander's bill to guarantee paid sick leave to every single New Yorker, including all gig workers,” said Amit Singh Bagga, candidate for City Council District 26, “I'm proud to have led the implementation of New York City's 2013 Paid Sick Leave law, which extended this basic human right to three million New Yorkers in the face of the mishagas of employers who ultimately found that the sky did not in fact fall because someone stayed home instead of passing the flu around. It feels beshert to stand with Brad today, as I stood with him in co-authoring the Freelance Isn't Free Act, the first law in the nation to provide any protections to freelancers and gig workers. Together, we can and will build a New York City where all of us have access to opportunity, so that we may live with dignity, and build power - together."
"Freelance and contracted labor are an integral part of New York City’s economy, and as we’ve seen during the COVID-19 Pandemic, essential. It only makes sense to include Gig Workers in NYC’s Earned Safe and Sick Time law. With so much of today’s economy dependent on the mobility of our workforce, it would not only protect the health of workers, it is critical for the wellbeing of our entire city,” said Juan Ardila, candidate for City Council District 30.
“Nobody should have to choose between earning a living and trying to stay healthy. Over 140,000 gig workers, especially those who have put themselves on the line throughout the pandemic - food-delivery cyclists, Uber drivers, nail salon techs, and day laborers, and others - deserve the right to paid sick leave,” said Jennifer Gutierrez, candidate for City Council District 34. “I am proud to stand with my fellow candidates, advocates, and councilmembers Lander, Reynoso and Van Bramer to call on City Council to do the right thing and pass Intro 1926.”
“I am proud to stand with Brad Lander in calling to extend New York City’s Paid Safe & Sick Leave law to gig workers. It is our moral obligation to fight for the essential workers who put their health and safety on the line for us everyday during this pandemic. No one should have to go to work when they are sick and no one should face retaliation or termination for being sick. That includes food-delivery cyclists, Uber drivers, nail salon techs, and day laborers. Over 140,000 people right now in New York City are being excluded from paid sick leave. They are Black, Brown, many of them are immigrants, and they are doing essential work for very little income. It’s time for the City Council to step up and guarantee justice by passing Intro 1926.” said Sandy Nurse, candidate for City Council District 37.
"BIPOC New Yorkers make up the majority of gig workers in this city, and, for the past year during this pandemic, they’ve had to risk their lives in order to continue making money, or else they simply would not have gotten paid. This further underscores how BIPOC communities are often exploited and disproportionately impacted by a lack of protection for workers in our city's laws. The City Council must take steps toward restoring dignity to these excluded New Yorkers and bring this bill to a vote so that gig workers can be afforded the basic right of paid sick leave." said Brandon West, candidate for City Council District 39.
"We must expand the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act. Paid sick leave is an essential right that should be given to all workers regardless of their employment status. This issue is personal to me. This bill would cover thousands of taxi and rideshare workers, delivery workers many of whom live in my district and in my home neighborhood of Kensington in Brooklyn. I've seen firsthand how throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our city has relied on these workers for food, travel, medicine delivery, and it far past time for us to give them the protections they need. I'm proud to stand with Council Member Lander who I worked with as his staffer, as we call for paid sick leave for gig workers and other misclassified independent contractors." said Shahana Hanif, candidate for City Council District 39.
"Gig workers are workers. Food delivery workers are workers. Uber drivers are workers. And all of these workers, who are essential to our city, deserve the same paid sick leave protections as other hard-working New Yorkers," said Justin Krebs, candidate for City Council District 39. "Councilmember Lander is right: we needed paid sick leave for gig workers a year ago and we still need it today. This City Council shouldn't leave this as unfinished business, or else the next Council must take it up immediately."