New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has publicly backed the Delivery Protection Act, legislation designed to reform the city's last-mile delivery industry. This bill, sponsored by Queens Council Member Tiffany Cabán, mandates that operators of specific last-mile warehouses and storage facilities obtain licenses from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) and adhere to new safety, training, and employment standards. Crucially, it would necessitate that workers performing core warehouse and delivery services be directly employed by the facility operator, effectively phasing out third-party contracting for these roles.
Mamdani stated that corporations like Amazon leverage subcontracting to evade accountability, allowing them to control delivery operations without being responsible for worker conditions. This endorsement significantly bolsters the bill, which already has 35 Council member sponsors and has been a topic of discussion since an April 9 hearing. Amazon, on the other hand, claims the bill could jeopardize more than 40 local Delivery Service Partners and the jobs of over 5,000 people they employ, potentially leading the company to move its delivery operations outside the city.
Amazon has actively opposed the legislation, contributing over $5 million to the Five Boroughs Jobs Campaign between February and May, according to state lobbying disclosures. This campaign has, in turn, spent more than $5 million on lobbying efforts against the bill, including direct and grassroots lobbying of Council members and the Mayor’s Office. The coalition opposing the bill, New York Delivers, cited an analysis commissioned by the Amazon-funded group, warning that over 10,000 jobs could be at risk and that delivery costs for consumers could increase by as much as $5.20 per package, or $664 annually per household.
This move by Mamdani represents the latest in a series of confrontations between his administration and Amazon. Earlier in May, his administration recovered over $9 million in unpaid idling fines from the company. The bill, if passed, would make New York the first U.S. city to regulate these last-mile operations, a move supported by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The legislation is seen by supporters as a way to address a loophole that allows companies to avoid regulations regarding minimum pay and benefits for workers, while Amazon argues it would hurt small businesses and consumers.
