--- description: Through organizing via social media, on-the-ground rallies, and political activism, Los Deliveristas Unidos has secured a string of victories. title: Gustavo Ajche Is Fighting for the Dignity of Delivery Workers image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12a23bb21c7497c7/6998c9969fbc7c2d78d9a652/250929LatinoLeaders_Ajche.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 16, 2025 # Gustavo Ajche Is Fighting for the Dignity of Delivery Workers by [Andrew R. Chow](/author/andrew-r-chow/) ## Andrew R. Chow Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent  Los Deliveristas Unidos leader Gustavo Ajche poses for a photo beside a memorial to Adrian Coyotl De Los Santos, in Brooklyn on June 22, 2021. Los Deliveristas Unidos leader Gustavo Ajche poses for a photo beside a memorial to Adrian Coyotl De Los Santos, in Brooklyn on June 22, 2021.Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images Since the rise of delivery apps like [DoorDash](https://time.com/collections/time100-companies-2025/7289626/doordash/ "undefined") and Grubhub, many people have come to expect hot food delivered within minutes to their doorsteps as a fact of modern life. Many rarely think of the realities of the people actually delivering the food. The job, which includes driving e-bikes through traffic in sleet, heat waves, or[ floods](https://x.com/AjcheGustavo/status/1951116148491329765 "undefined"), all for a few dollars each harrowing trip, is unrelenting and physically dangerous. It also lacks protections because these gig workers aren’t considered employees of the tech companies they deliver for. In the last couple of years, however, delivery workers in New York City have won crucial protections thanks in large part to the organizing efforts of Los Deliveristas Unidos, a collective co-founded by Gustavo Ajche. A Guatemalan immigrant who arrived in New York as a teenager in 2004, Ajche got his start delivering pizzas and saw firsthand how little power delivery workers had to protect themselves from exploitation or terrible working conditions. (In 2024, the [Center for Migration Studies](https://cmsny.org/importance-of-immigrant-labor-to-us-economy/ "undefined") estimated there were 13,400 undocumented people working as delivery drivers in New York State.) “I see in the streets, a lot of delivery workers face bad things but think that because they’re an immigrant, they don’t have the right to speak up,” he says. “But that’s not true. I learned that if you’re not afraid to fight for your rights, you make good things happen.” Thanks to their organizing via social media, on-the-ground rallies, and political activism, Los Deliveristas Unidos has secured a[ string of victories](https://citylimits.org/city-laws-look-to-close-workplace-protection-loopholes-for-app-based-delivery-workers/ "undefined"): bathroom access, tip transparency, an unprecedented[ minimum wage](https://documentedny.com/2025/07/16/city-council-expands-minimum-wage-to-20000-grocery-delivery-workers/ "undefined") of $21.44 an hour. In February, New York Attorney General Letitia James[ announced](https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/02/25/doordash-settlement-millions-to-drivers-over-pocketed-tips/80222432007/ "undefined") a $16.75 million settlement with DoorDash for using tips given by customers to subsidize delivery workers’ guaranteed pay. And New York City is currently[ constructing](https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/08/06/construction-begins-on-deliverista-hub-highlighting-need-for-more-infrastructure "undefined") the first federally funded “Deliverista Hub,” in which workers can charge their phones, stay cool, and access other services between deliveries as opposed to having to loiter in the street or parks. Ajche, 41, says he appreciates that apps like DoorDash give immigrants a way to earn money, but better working conditions are essential. “The apps are testing you, pushing you to go faster and faster, because they promise to the customer, ‘Your food is going to be ready in 10 minutes,’” he says. “But sometimes it takes more.” Ajche and Los Deliveristas are currently fighting for a New York City bill that would[ require](https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/07/18/new-bill-would-block-apps-from-deactivating-workers-without-cause "undefined") companies like DoorDash to give workers “just cause” for deactivating their accounts. They are also working to educate their members on navigating Eric Adams’[ crackdown](https://gothamist.com/news/dozens-of-new-officers-will-crack-down-on-nyc-delivery-workers-riding-e-bikes-and-mopeds "undefined") against dangerous e-bike riding as well as ICE’s raids on[ restaurants and their workers](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/dining/ice-restaurants.html#:~:text=The%20targets%20included%20high%2Dprofile,200%20arrests%2C%20according%20to%20ICE. "undefined"). Ajche says that there is a fundamental disconnect between how people think about delivery workers and the food they want delivered. “They don’t like immigrants, but they use our labor,” he says. “We’re not disposable. We’re fighting for dignity for working-class people.” Gustavo Ajche Is Advocating for Delivery Workers ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/latino-leaders-2025/7310770/gustavo-achje/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/latino-leaders-2025/7310770/gustavo-achje/"},"headline":"Gustavo Ajche Is Fighting for the Dignity of Delivery Workers","datePublished":"2025-09-16T11:23:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:54:25.829Z","description":"Through organizing via social media, on-the-ground rallies, and political activism, Los Deliveristas Unidos has secured a string of victories.","url":"https://time.com/collections/latino-leaders-2025/7310770/gustavo-achje/","keywords":["list","franchise","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12a23bb21c7497c7/6998c9969fbc7c2d78d9a652/250929LatinoLeaders_Ajche.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrew R. 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