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Mamdani Backs Delivery Protection Act Challenging Amazon’s Subcontracting Model

Passage would shift legal responsibility for worker safety and employment from delivery contractors to major firms.

Overview

  • Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly endorsed the Delivery Protection Act on Monday, giving new political weight to a Teamsters-backed push to require last-mile operators to directly employ core delivery workers.
  • The bill would make covered 'last-mile' warehouses obtain licenses from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and set safety, training and employment standards for those facilities.
  • Amazon and business groups say the measure could threaten thousands of small contractor jobs, raise consumer delivery costs and prompt the company to relocate operations outside the city.
  • Opponents point to an AKRF analysis that estimates an average $664 annual increase in household delivery costs and coalition claims of up to 10,000 jobs at risk, while disclosures show Amazon gave more than $5 million to groups opposing the bill.
  • The proposal has broad City Council sponsorship but remains laid over in committee with Speaker Julie Menin not committing to a vote, leaving the timing and final shape of the law uncertain and raising questions about enforcement, transition rules, and local service impacts.