If you live in range of an Amazon warehouse, you’ve probably seen the company’s fancy, electric Rivian fleet pulling up to drop off orders. If you’re outside of the company’s standard range of operation, though, it’s more likely your package will be delivered by some dude in a van or a rented U-Haul. Those are contractors, and despite the fact that they do the essential work for one of the richest companies on the planet, they work with minimal protections in often grueling conditions.
New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán has recently proposed a new set of protections for those workers, and according to a report from Bloomberg, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has lent his support to the effort, setting up yet another standoff between the Big Apple and the e-commerce giant.
The proposed legislation, dubbed the Delivery Protection Act, would take aim at how companies like Amazon, FedEx, and others handle “last mile” deliveries—the final step in getting a package from the company’s facilities to the customer’s doorstep. Among other things, it would most notably require Amazon to hire those drivers, currently operating as independent contractors, and treat them as full-time employees with all of the protections and benefits that come with it.
Working conditions for delivery drivers at issue
The work conditions for these contractors, particularly the ones who work with Amazon, are pretty well documented at this point.
The New York Times reported that Amazon previously had a standard that 999 out of every 1,000 deliveries completed by a driver arrive on time, and the company used trackers to monitor their progress, calling and prodding them to pick up the pace if they fall behind schedule. A 2022 study conducted by the Strategic Organizing Center found that one in five drivers suffer an injury on the job, in no small part as they rush to meet their production quotas. The company’s strict standards have even been associated with accident-related deaths involving the contracted drivers.
Basically, the drivers aren’t safe, and neither are the communities they are serving. Mamdani, who has taken on a number of workers’ rights issues since becoming Mayor, has put a particular focus on delivery drivers. Earlier this year, he pushed the city to complete planned rest stops for delivery drivers, giving them a place to escape the elements and recharge the batteries on their bikes or scooters. He’s also taken a stand for delivery drivers working for companies like UberEats and DoorDash, attacking the tipping practices used by the companies and pushing for more money to land in the pockets of drivers.
The proposed legislation would go much further, offering the last-mile drivers the same protections other full-time employees get.
Amazon objects to proposed reclassification
Amazon, of course, objects to the bill. In a statement to the New York Times, the company warned that it would make deliveries slower, more expensive, and potentially cost jobs, as the company would consider moving its distribution hubs outside of the city to avoid the regulations.
The company has made good on at least one threat like this in the past, opting not to set up its second headquarters in New York City after the city denied its demands for billions in tax incentives. But you’d probably be hard-pressed to find too many New Yorkers who resent the city for what happened.
Odds are Amazon isn’t going to pull out of New York City the way it did Quebec over an employee unionization effort, either. New York too big a market to really threaten that way. It also gives Mamdani a pretty easy target—you’re not likely to find a ton of sympathy for Amazon when the ask is for the company to pay and protect the people who do important work for them.
Amazon reported an operating income of $27.5 billion in the 2nd quarter of 2026 alone. They can say that they can’t pay drivers as employees, but that sure seems to suggest it’s more of a “won’t” rather than a “can’t.”
