Mayor Mamdani backs Delivery Protection Act as Amazon threatens to leave NYC
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has endorsed the Delivery Protection Act, a bill that would force Amazon and other carriers to directly employ last-mile workers, prompting Amazon to warn it may relocate its operations.
New York City’s Delivery Protection Act, filed as Int 518-2026 and succeeding a 2025 proposal, seeks city-issued licenses for last-mile facilities and obliges firms such as Amazon to directly employ workers who handle core delivery and warehouse duties, effectively ending most subcontracting. The bill sets a nominal $500 annual fee per location, a two-year license term, and a one-year grace period with limited exceptions, while also requiring employers to offer re-employment to displaced subcontractor staff.
Though the measure is stalled in the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsement in August 2026 has intensified a public-relations fight, with Amazon allocating more than $5 million to counter the proposal. Advocates argue the law would improve accountability and worker conditions, whereas critics warn it could shutter independent delivery businesses and raise consumer costs, which an Amazon-backed study estimates at $664 per household annually. The dispute revives a fraught history between the city and Amazon, and its resolution may set a precedent for nationwide regulation of last-mile logistics.
Why it matters
The bill could change how millions of city deliveries are staffed, affecting workers, small businesses and consumer prices.
In this story
