Mamdani Backs a Bill That Would Force Amazon to Directly Employ Its NYC Delivery Drivers

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced his support on August 10 for the Delivery Protection Act, a City Council bill that would require Amazon and other large delivery operators to directly employ the workers who staff their last-mile warehouses and make final-mile deliveries, rather than routing that work through third-party subcontractors known as Delivery Service Partners.

The bill, sponsored by Queens Council Member Tiffany Cabán, has been building support since it was first introduced in September 2025. Mamdani's endorsement, delivered in a social media video alongside delivery workers describing conditions on the job, marks the most significant political backing the legislation has received so far.

What the Bill Would Actually Require

The Delivery Protection Act targets what's known as the DSP model, the system Amazon and similar companies use where a third-party contractor employs and manages drivers who wear Amazon uniforms and drive Amazon-branded vehicles, but are not classified as Amazon employees. The bill would eliminate that arrangement for core delivery and warehouse functions, making the corporation operating a last-mile facility, such as Amazon, directly responsible for employing the workers who do the work.

It would also create a citywide licensing system for last-mile warehouses and distribution facilities through the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, establishing new safety, training, and labor standards that operators would need to meet to keep operating. At least 18 large last-mile facilities have opened across the city since 2017.

Why Supporters Say the Bill Is Necessary

Cabán has framed the subcontracting model as a deliberate liability shield. “People that are in Amazon vests, driving Amazon vans, delivering Amazon packages… are saddled with impossible quotas, vehicles that are falling apart,” she said in comments reported by NY1. “And then, when something inevitably goes wrong because of that, Amazon gets to say, not my employee, not my problem.”

Mamdani echoed that argument directly: “If Amazon is delivering your packages, they should follow the same rules as any other delivery company.” City Council Member Alexa Avilés, whose district includes Sunset Park and Red Hook, two neighborhoods with a heavy concentration of last-mile facilities, has pointed to traffic congestion and air quality complaints from residents living near these warehouses as part of the case for the bill.

A former Amazon traffic control worker, Ira Pollack, testified to the City Council that he witnessed vans “speeding all over the loading area where workers are on foot” and described managers pressuring drivers to move faster even while other workers were still loading vehicles nearby.

Why Amazon and Opponents Say It Would Backfire

Amazon has warned the legislation could force it to restructure or relocate parts of its New York delivery network. Company spokesperson Kelly Nantel told Business Insider the bill, as written, would “directly undermine” Amazon's ability to hire local workers, warning it could threaten the jobs of thousands of employees at the small businesses that operate as delivery partners.

Opposition extends beyond Amazon itself. Kris Basmagy, co-founder of a three-year-old delivery company called DashWave that employs more than 150 people, most delivering on foot in Manhattan, told Progressive.org he believes the bill would force DSPs like his to fire their existing workforce, who would then need to go through a separate hiring process directly with Amazon or another covered company. A spokesperson for a group called New York Delivers said the bill's impact “will fall hardest not on large corporations, but on the workers it claims to protect, local small business owners, and the 78% of New Yorkers who rely on delivery of essential goods each week.”

Reporting from New York Focus found Amazon has spent roughly $5 million on a campaign opposing the bill. Cabán has argued that opposition has been structured to look more grassroots than it is, saying Amazon uses “this sort of PR campaign to try to say, well, no, we're not the big bad corporation, we're actually a group of small businesses.” She has also dismissed Amazon's threat to relocate operations outside the city, arguing the company's entire delivery strategy depends on staying close to its customer base, making a full withdrawal from New York commercially unlikely regardless of the bill's outcome.

Where the Bill Stands Now

The Delivery Protection Act is currently awaiting a vote before the full City Council. Cabán has called it “the most important municipal labor bill in the country,” and if passed, it would make New York City the first US locality to require direct employment for last-mile delivery and warehouse workers at this scale.

This fight is part of a broader pattern in Mamdani's early tenure. His administration has also signaled it will continue pursuing food delivery apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash over what City Hall has called deceptive tipping practices, positioning last-mile labor standards as a recurring theme of his approach to regulating platform and delivery-based businesses operating in the city.

What This Could Mean If You Sell on Amazon

For sellers, the practical relevance here is indirect but real. If the bill passes and Amazon does restructure or reduce its last-mile footprint in New York City in response, that could affect delivery speed promises and Prime eligibility timelines for orders shipping to the city, at least during any transition period. Amazon has not detailed what specific operational changes it would make if the bill becomes law, and its public statements so far have focused on warning about job losses and cost increases rather than describing a concrete contingency plan.

Sellers with concentrated New York City sales volume, or those relying heavily on same-day or next-day delivery promises to that market specifically, are the ones most likely to feel any disruption first if this legislation moves forward. For now, the bill remains unpassed, and Amazon's delivery network in the city continues operating under its current subcontracting structure.