Amazon’s Delivery Model Just Came Under Fire in Chicago
New York's Delivery Protection Act just stopped being a single-city story. Chicago introduced its own version on August 25, and a City Council hearing is now scheduled for September 15. That's the exact threshold that turns a local labor dispute into a potential structural shift in how last-mile delivery gets regulated nationally.
What Chicago's Bill Would Actually Do
The Chicago Delivery Protection Act, introduced by Alderwoman Julia Ramirez (D-12th Ward), mirrors the core structure of New York's bill closely. It would require delivery companies operating within city limits to obtain licenses for their last-mile delivery facilities and would ban the subcontracting model companies like Amazon currently use to staff those facilities.
Randy Korgan, Director of the Teamsters Amazon Division, framed the momentum behind the push directly: “The movement to end Amazon's dangerous DSP model is growing because workers are fed up with this company's lies and mistreatment.” Ash Brooks, an Amazon driver working out of the DIL7 facility in Skokie, Illinois, described the daily reality the bill targets: “Amazon sets my routes, watches me as I drive, and confirms my deliveries at the end of each day. We need the law to catch up to the reality of delivering for Amazon.”
Where New York's Bill Actually Stands Right Now
New York's version has moved considerably further along. The Delivery Protection Act, sponsored by Council Member Tiffany Cabán, now carries supermajority support with 34 council co-sponsors, plus backing from the public advocate and the Brooklyn borough president. A full-day committee hearing has already been held, though a floor vote has not yet been scheduled.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani's public endorsement on August 10 coincided with a rally organized by the Teamsters that drew hundreds of participants, including General President Sean M. O'Brien, who described Amazon's Delivery Service Partner model in blunt terms: “It allows Amazon to break the law while hiding behind shell companies it has total control over.” New York City Central Labor Council President Brendan Griffith added a specific rebuttal to Amazon's public opposition strategy, arguing that warnings about fewer jobs or higher prices reflect choices companies might make to protect their own interests, not consequences required by the legislation itself.
Amazon's opposition has been aggressive and well-funded. The company has spent more than $5 million on lobbying against the bill in New York, according to Teamsters tracking, making it Amazon's most significant single-issue lobbying campaign in the city to date.
The Numbers Both Sides Are Citing
A few concrete figures give useful context for how large this dispute actually is. Last-mile facility jobs and package volume have roughly doubled in New York City since 2017, and testimony at the City Council hearing cited injury rates in the sector running roughly three times the national private sector average. On pay specifically, delivery worker wages in New York currently start around $20 an hour, with Amazon stating its own average runs closer to $24. The Teamsters have pointed to a separate agreement reached with an Amazon contractor in California that pays approximately $30 an hour as evidence of what's achievable under a different employment structure.
Why Two Cities Moving in Parallel Changes the Calculation
A single city passing this kind of law is a notable but containable regulatory event for a company the size of Amazon. Two major cities moving on parallel tracks, with similar bill language and coordinated union organizing behind both, starts to look like the early stage of a broader regulatory template rather than an isolated New York-specific fight. If Chicago's bill gains real momentum following its September 15 hearing, expect organized labor to actively push the same model into other major metro markets next.
What This Means If You Sell on Amazon
Nothing changes operationally today in either city. Both bills remain unpassed, and Amazon's delivery network continues running under its existing DSP structure in New York and Chicago alike. But if you have meaningful sales volume concentrated in either city, this is worth tracking as a real possibility rather than background noise, since a change to Amazon's delivery employment structure in either market could eventually affect delivery costs, speed, or capacity during any transition period, the same operational risk flagged when New York's bill first gained traction. The practical move right now is simply awareness: know that this is advancing on two fronts simultaneously, and revisit your own exposure if either bill clears its next legislative hurdle.
