B.T. Weeks

Just last month, DoorDash couldn’t seem to find the money to pay their deliveristas — until our administration forced them to give back $131M+ in stolen wages and penalties. This week, they’ve managed to find $17 billion to acquire one of their main competitors. Corporate consolidation means higher prices, harsher exploitation, and greater economic inequality for New Yorkers. We’ve stood up to these giants before. That doesn’t stop now.

I grew up in a world Dolores Huerta helped make. Every time a worker in this city organizes for a fair wage, every time a tenant, delivery worker, or a nanny stands up and demands better, they join a tradition she forged. She led without asking permission. She organized farmworkers when the country looked away, took the grape boycott to every corner of America, and won protections that changed millions of lives. Her work started in California’s fields, but it was never only for California. Families in New York, in Texas, and in the Midwest followed in her footsteps and learned from her example, without ever meeting her. Her bravery and fight for justice continued until the very end of her life, when she came forward to share the truth about what she had survived -- even though silence would have been easier. She taught us that sí se puede and lived it every day. New York mourns Dolores Huerta. Let us honor her by continuing the work.