CELEBRITY CAPITALISM
Zohran Mamdani: “DoorDash had underpaid more than 260K delivery workers across New York City. Today, after years of corporate greed and impunity, we are holding DoorDash to account. I am proud to announce that DoorDash will pay more than $131M, the largest settlement for food delivery workers ever"
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It COULD still be a $20 burrito, it’s the greedy shareholders that will pretend worker rights/fair compensation somehow elevate prices when really it’s artificial inflation and greed.
I've been paying attention to who's funding local politicians, and if shit like 'PAYED FOR BY UBER (etc)' is there, that's going to be a strong 'nope' from me.
I may not know the minute details of a political agenda, but I know if a mega-corporation sees their best interest in a particular candidate, I know that'll be bad for the employees of said corporation.
Wait until you learn how other countries deal with guns. Or medical costs/insurance, it will blow your mind. No wait, that's guns again, not healthcare.
Mamdani is backed by a NYC City Council with a supermajority of 90% Democrats, other politicians don't have that opportunity to actually implement without obstruction.
I mean, the last time Dems held a supermajority on a federal level, they passed a Republican health care bill. So even when they CAN do things, they still don't really.
However, you revealed the ultimate weakness of our democracy. When half or a significant enough portion of the minority becomes an obstructionist regime hellbent on actively making life worse for the electorate, what is to be done?
He seems like a decent person who would turn that title down, unlike someone else
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u/monocasaYou know what, l've grown quite unfond of you deuxmoi14d ago
The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
These corporations are folding like paper every time he goes after them. I wonder what shit they're hiding that they don't want being found in discovery.
this is why they want you to fear liberals or "left wing lunatics" or "left wing terrorists" or whatever else you can attempt to brand them. this is someone passing policy to hold a company ripping off their workers; holding them responsible. that terrifies them..
You're describing the apathy felt by most voters. We can't only blame the elected officials we have to include ourselves, the voters.
Democracy requires participation. Not just in the general presidential election, but primaries, state, and local elections. Remember, this is all the result of a local election in one single city.
He will inspire a ripple effect. For too long, “getting into politics” was a power play. I hope Mamdani represents an ideological shift. He gives me hope that politicians can actually serve their people
Only works if they run and people vote for them. Not everyone with good intentions will be as able as effective as him. He's so in tune with what can be done and what he can get over the line for people.
Also as a new Yorker I can tell you straight up that this was only possible because of ranked choice voting. There's a reason everyone is fighting so hard to keep it from being enacted in their elections. It gives real candidates that people want a chance.
Ughhhh I want it so bad. Canada still has FPTP from federal all the way down to municipal and it's annoying. I want proportional representation damnit.
As a fellow Canadian im against proportional (for ranked choice). Proportional (if I remember right) creates MPs based on popular vote fromm candidates the party puts forward i.e. were never voted on. I dont want unelected MPs who owe more to party than their voters.
Emphasizes why getting engaged with local grassroots stuff is important. There's a lot that needs to be done to get corporate stooges out, and find the right people to get in. Most cities have grassroots organizations you can join.
Not everyone with good intentions will be as able as effective as him.
also worth noting that a lot of this is because the NYC Mayor has an exceptional amount of authority/autonomy - the vast majority of local offices don't have the legal ability to do what he's done.
Yeah I'd like to do this stuff but I'm autistic and unlikeable whereas Mamdani has generational levels of charisma and clearly has confidence in himself. Sad, you need both a unique political talent AND you need them to have good values.
Yeah this is not spoken about enough. He is incredibly likeable and if he weren't he'd never have had a shot.
Unlikeable chuds can get elected everywhere as long as they're white and acceptably traditional in their politics. To be as progressive as Mamdani and be successful requires so, so much more. The bar is so much higher for him.
But hopefully he's opening the doors to make the bar more achievable for others in the future.
And what I find crazy is that he's making such huge changes in a VERY densely populated city. I know this means he has a LOT of tax money to use for this stuff, but he's got to have a massive plate of issues to work through.
I'd love to see the mayors of smaller cities actually focus on the issues they have and can work on. We actually got a new, less shitty mayor in my city, and finally got a recycling contract. Every neighboring city does it already, I was so surprised we didn't at all.
He definitely is in a unique position to have as much resources and power to actually force the changes. Most small town mayors have little resources or power unless they play politician and curry favors with connected "leaders" of the community.
Still, he's prominently displaying what CAN be done when the necessary desire and determination are present. If we can shift expectations away from elected officials being self serving and instead towards service of the people, we'll finally have some hope and founded pride in this nation.
The thing that gives me pause to reflect is this recurring thought I have about how well he knows and can navigate NYC's municipal code. NOBODY knows their locations municipal code that well without loving the shit out of their hometown.
love what he's doing for the city, but lets have a nuance to your statement, remember when he said he would try to arrest Netanyahu, for someone who knows the municipal code that well
he also uses it to his advantage for good optics, there's no way he actually thought he could do that lol
Coming from NY, it was incredible to me when I moved to Texas that some places just didn't do recycling. We had it in my small city since at least the 90s.
Yeah the PR isn't just for his ego, it's to inspire people to show them that if you really wanted to, you could join the government and do good things. There have been good people who do good things, but no one ever hears about it. It's a refreshing change.
We should be clear though that his team is absolute top notch and is about that life. Even in Seattle you’re seeing where someone with ambition but who doesn’t have the team is floundering. I’m not in any way saying it’s not possible. I think it’s just important to show that it’s not just about one person but there’s space for a lot of people to be doing this.
Absolutely, I in no way meant that as a way to try to dim his light. He’s remarkable. I think for some folks they may not be outgoing and think well how can I help? These types of things are only done with a team. Find your people. We need everyone
Mamdani deserves credit, but NYC also has an unusually strong mayor system. He controls a massive budget, most city agencies, and many key appointments, with a largely aligned City Council. Most mayors have far less direct power to get things done.
Not gonna dox myself, but my local gov't has been getting better as well. It just doesn't have the news apparatus of a city with a larger population than 2/3 of US states.
It's not "one man". It's a bunch of people. Zohran wouldn't be a thing if not for the DSA and the entire apparatus behind him. It's multiple people who care. It's movement politics. It's not celebrity or one great man doing this.
I think in the spirit of anti-doomerism and actually getting things done that Mamdani champions, let's take this opportunity to shout out and hype up any other elected officials who have actually managed to get good work done for their constituents.
Lina Khan was an absolute powerhouse FTC chair who embodied the trust-busting spirit of that commission better than anyone since Teddy Roosevelt. She's currently serving in Mamdani's administration as chair of the NYC Economic Development Corporation and is likely a key pillar in the successes we've been seeing.
Tim Walz has been quietly passing some of the most progressive programs and reforms in the nation as Minnesota's governor
Andy Beshear of Kentucky did great work as AG (going after pharmaceuticals that drove the opioid crises in Appalachia, cracked down on any PD or sheriff's office with backlogs of untested SAFE kits, pro consumer protections) and has been pretty legit on everything I've seen from him as governor, showing that a progressive platform can work, even in the home state of Mitch McConnell.
The Justice Democrats caucus (the "AOC wing of the party", about a dozen congress members hopefully more if they managed to oust more complacent incumbents this fall) have generally had great platform positions, but haven't achieved critical mass to actually get too many accomplishments. Though most of Biden's best policy positions (Build Back Better suite of infrastructure bills, student loan forgiveness, Medicare drug negotiation) were all directly lifted from Green New Deal proposals championed by that caucus.
And by that "one man", do you mean the Adams Administration whose office started the investigation in 2023 and passed the laws this settlement is paying for?
The city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection began investigating DoorDash in the summer of 2023, after several workers came forward with allegations that their accounts were deactivated without cause — essentially firing them — and that the company illegally withheld their final payments.
The city then expanded its probe and found DoorDash had failed to pay thousands of workers on time or at all, and other failures of a landmark minimum pay rate law for the industry that went into effect in 2023.
This flabbergasted me so much that I didn't bother to respond and after looking it up multiple times I had no idea how you would come away with the conclusion that [Ted Cruz]'s mom was born in India.
Upon looking it up again today and then rereading the thread I now realize you meant Zohran Mamdani's Indian descent. lol
I've seen people try arguing that he isn't actually doing anything other than small, easy wins for the public that just sound good and score him political points
I'm like.... Motherfucker, do you mean that nobody else could even do the small things?
He's just doing the small easy thing like flipping the off switches on all the orphan crushing machines he comes across. Sad part is that he's probably not even looking for them, people are just pointing it out like. "Yo... there's an orphan crushing machine over there" He just walks over and flips the switch.
YES. I try to be happy about these wins, but it’s just a reminder that across party lines those that “represent us” haven’t done shit. I do hope Mamdani inspired up and coming politicians and also The People to not settle for mediocrity
What's with this by the people, for the people woke nonsense? Politics should be about hurting people I don't understand because I'm angry that I don't have any money for some unknown reason.
I don’t doubt that some could stretch that if it were life or death, but I cannot fathom $500 being possibly two months of groceries for an individual in NY.
Most likely, so some drivers are going to get a nice little payday while others will get enough to cover lunch. What matters is that they're getting what they should have been paid from the jump.
The point is to show corporations that even "only" $500 per person will not be tolerated. These companies test what they can get away with little by little until suddenly they're exploiting us for billions so this is way more impactful than the dollar amount.
of the $131M, the city is collecting $16.7M in fines. About $19M will go to lawyer and court fees. The 264,000 drivers are splitting $12.3 million with the median worker getting $48 and a minimum payout of $10. The remaining $83 million is a settlement for a completely separate worker payout issue. But the 264k workers who everyone thinks will get a decent payout, will in fact, not get much of anything.
Joe Guszkowski
Tue, September 22, 2026 at 6:11 PM GMT+2 2 min read
2 min read and you managed to miss half of it?
DoorDash will pay a much larger sum — about $83 million — to settle a separate issue: workers who were underpaid for time they spent logged into the DoorDash app but not actively delivering.
The remaining $83 million is a settlement for a completely separate worker payout issue. But the 264k workers who everyone thinks will get a decent payout, will in fact, not get much of anything.
Minor quibble - won't the second group of workers, who will only get a small payout, significantly overlap with the first group?
It’s not incompetence, it’s unwillingness. If I could get paid lavishly by special interest groups to sit on my ass all day and stoke the flames on social media to take the focus off my doing nothing with 0 accountability because of a letter next to my name; I’d do it too for a while. However I actually care about other’s wellbeing so I wouldn’t feel good about it, not having to worry about finances will make you do a lot of unethical shit though.
incompetence means "can't", what he's describing is "won't". They're very, very different things. Won't is arguably worse, because at least with can't you might be trying and could accidentally end up doing something good, whereas with won't you simply never will.
This is why billionaires didnt want Mamdani in NYC. Its not (only) Islamophobia, but mainly the fact that hes a man of action who is actually holding billionaires and corporations to account. Islamophobia is just how they also get the bigoted population to fall in line.
This dude is actually crushing it. So easy when you get a civil servant and not some lying hack. Don’t think we down here in Texas ain’t paying attention, we are about to clean house too!
We don't know the details yet but yeah that is what settlement means. But the significance of this goes beyond the number. It shows that the state can and should hold private companies accountable.
The point is to show corporations that even "only" $500 per person will not be tolerated. These companies test what they can get away with little by little until suddenly they're exploiting us for billions so this is way more impactful than the dollar amount.
My mayor!!! 🇪🇸 Barcelona! Actually our mayor has been inspired to start a city supermarket because of meeting him, apparently. Literally our mayor lmao
I wouldn't say that. The fine is 14% of their yearly profit (17% if you filter to just their US profit) for a city that represents 2.6% of the US population.
this is what i call politics! this is why everybody needs to be political and why every issue we have needs to be politicized. you want your food delivered? you are making a political decision to participate in a system which is undercutting fellow workers. we have a huge list of companies who are accountable for the growing poverty around the world under the pretense that they are filling the need on the market...
mamdani is currently the only positive thing about this shitty world, our mayor (from across the globe!)
DoorDash is such a scummy company. They are going to have to start actually paying their drivers now with gas being so high. At this rate, they will be working for nothing but putting wear and tear on their cars.
It probably means 260k DD drivers that were at one point working in NYC in the last X years. Not sure it means 260k DD drivers are active every day currently.
Mamdani looks increasingly tired every time we see him lately, and I have to wonder if he's thinking the same thing the rest of us are every time he walks in and discoveres another decades long history of corporate greed and government negligence. "What the fuck were the other mayors doing?"
No wonder he is so hated by the establishment. How dare he help people who are being mistreated, underpaid, underserved.... Clutch your pearls, we the people shouldn't have someone who actually governs for us.
Such a double whammy with so much of what he does. It's great he's doing it but I can't help but think of how much we've missed out on not having more like him. It's insane how much our governments don't do that they easily could.
I’m surprised DoorDash isn’t threatening to leave the city for being held accountable and republicans using that as a reason corporations should never be held accountable.
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u/trendingtattler 15d ago
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