NYC Mayor Mamdani announces support for the Delivery Protection Act

Amazon, on the other hand, is fighting the measure to stop use of contractors for last-mile delivery.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is throwing his office's support behind a measure to change last-mile delivery practices. The Delivery Protection Act was introduced several months ago in the major metropolis' City Council. Many companies that do high-volume deliveries, most notably Amazon, rely on contractors rather than employees to take packages on the final legs of their journeys to customers. The proposed legislation would create new licensing rules for those last-mile operations as well as requiring the delivery workers to be regular hires rather than contractors.

In a video statement released today announcing his backing for the bill, Mamdani spoke to how Amazon controls many of the details around when and how deliveries are made in the metropolis, but avoids responsibility for any incidents that might occur on the job because the delivery drivers and couriers are contractors. "If Amazon is delivering your packages, they should follow the same rules of every other delivery company," Mamdani said.

Supporters of the bill, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, argue that this helps hold the large companies responsible for the delivery experience and would offer better pay and benefits to the professionals making those deliveries. Opponents, which unsurprisingly include Amazon, say the bill would lead to increased costs and slower deliveries for customers. It could see those companies with massive delivery operations move their distribution centers out of New York City to avoid the added regulation.