Los Deliveristas Unidos Demand Justice
“One of our dreams that we have as workers is to be treated as essential workers. We just donât want people to say that we are essential workers, but to be treated as that.” Delivery workers rally in October 2020 in Times Square to bring attention to increased bike thefts (Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress via Getty Images)
This article is part of Belabored Stories, a series by Sarah Jaffe and Michelle Chen featuring short accounts of what workers are facing during the coronavirus pandemic. Send your stories to belabored@dissentmagazine.org.
The streets of New York City are eerily quiet these days. Millions shelter at home, and commercial activity has been stifled by the pandemic. But one sound pierces the chilly air constantly: the whirr of the electric bicycles that delivery workers ride to bring fresh meals from restaurant kitchens to apartments across the city.