FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 13, 2025

Contact: Chelsea Connor | cconnor@rwdsu.org | 347-866-6259

STATEMENT: NYC MAYOR’S VETO CLOSING “INSTACART LOOPHOLE” HURTS WORKERS

(NEW YORK, NY) – It’s being reported that NYC Mayor Adams will soon veto Intro 1135, which closes the “Instacart Loophole” allowing third-party grocery delivery apps to pay their workers far below the minimum wage of $21.44 an hour that city law mandates restaurant delivery workers receive. InstaCart workers have reported earning as low as $2 an hour delivering groceries due to this loophole.  Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), issued the following statement:

“New York City’s grocery delivery workers help New Yorkers feed their families, and they deserve to be paid a wage that allows them to provide for their own families as well. Grocery app delivery workers deserve this just as much as restaurant delivery workers; they shouldn’t be punished and underpaid simply because the food they deliver comes from a grocery store app and not a restaurant app.

“At a time when app-based businesses like InstaCart are reporting big profits it’s galling that workers are being squeezed this way.  Vetoing this bill would be a slap in the face of some of New York’s hardest working citizens. We would urge the New York City Council to override the mayor’s veto if it comes to that.

“The city’s priority should be to protect the workers who feed New York City and not to protect the already substantial profits being made by app-based delivery companies.”

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The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) represents 100,000 members throughout the United States. The RWDSU is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). For more information, please visit our website at www.rwdsu.org, Facebook:/RWDSU.UFCW, Twitter:@RWDSU, Instagram: @rwdsustrong.