Another day, another corporate giant caught with its hand in the tip jar. Literally, this time, it’s DoorDash, the delivery at behemoth forced to cough up $16.8 million for stealing wages from its own workers in New York. Now, if you’re thinking, wow, that sounds like a lot of money, let’s put it in some perspective. DoorDash is worth over 55 billion this near $17 million settlement is just a tiny drop in a very large bucket, hardly enough to make them think twice, and that’s where the real issue lies. When massive corporations break the law, they don’t face real consequences. They just cut checks and move on. If this were the first time that DoorDash pulled a stunt like this, well, maybe we could call it a mistake, but it is not. This is a pattern. 2020 DoorDash paid two and a half million in Washington, DC in 2023 they paid 11 and a quarter million in Illinois. Now another 16 point 8 million in New York, same scam, different zip code, and let’s be honest, this settlement is not the equivalent of real punishment. If an everyday worker stole this much money, they would be behind bars. But when a billion dollar company does it well, they get to pay a fine and call it a settlement, and then continue business as usual. Now, to be clear, this settlement does matter. Yes, 1000s of DoorDash drivers, aka Dashers, are finally getting back some of the money that they were cheated out of. But let’s not give DoorDash credit for doing the right thing. Shall we say this victory didn’t happen because DoorDash suddenly decided to grow a conscience. It happened because of pressure from labor organizers, from workers and from everyday people refusing to accept corporate exploitation. Groups like Los deliveristos yunnados have been fighting for fair pay and protections for gig workers. For years, their activism helped push New York City to establish a minimum wage of $19.50

what per app, delivery based driver, worker per hour. And that’s a historic win that would not have happened without worker led advocacy. This is the power of organizing, and it’s proof that when workers fight back, they can win, but this victory also reveals a troubling reality. What about the Dashers in every other state who haven’t gotten their stolen wages back? If DoorDash did this in New York, Washington, DC and Illinois, what are the chances that they aren’t doing it in other places? You know, we, the people, deserve the truth, and let’s talk about us, the customers. Because this isn’t just about workers getting short changed. It’s about how DoorDash lied to every single one of us. They encouraged people like us to tip flashing messages like Dashers will always receive 100% of the tip. That sounds reassuring, right? Except it was not true. Instead of adding tips to workers, earner earnings, DoorDash used them to cover their own labor cost. So if a customer tipped $3 on an order where DoorDash had promised a worker $7 the company just paid the worker $4 and called it even. That is what we call deception, plain and simple, and it should make all of us as consumers furious. Imagine going to a restaurant leaving a $10 tip for a server and then finding out later that the boss just pocketed the money and docked $10 from the server’s pay. We would never accept that. So why are we letting tech companies get away with it. And you know, the worst part this kind of corporate exploitation is not the exception, it’s the rule. DoorDash isn’t alone in this, big corporations have learned that the worst that can happen when they break the law is a fine, usually one much smaller than the profits that they made from their very own wrongdoings, and unless we demand more, they’ll just keep doing it. So what can we do? Consumers? Well, we have the power. We can demand transparency, and if companies are shady about worker pay, then we don’t have to support them. And workers organizing works this settlement in New York and its minimum wage law prove that keep pushing and lawmakers well enough with the slap on the wrist, worker protections at the national level are necessary. We need to ensure gig workers get what they’re owed, because at the end of the day, if a company can get away with stealing wages once, well they’re gonna do it again, unless we make sure that they can’t. DoorDash may have settled this case, but the fight for worker justice is not over, and we are watching you.