New York Mayor Mamdani advocates for Amazon and FedEx employee rights

New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani has pledged his full support for a new legal measure targeting giant companies like Amazon and FedEx, advocating for the rights of low-income workers. This new bill will mandate that these companies provide direct employment to their delivery drivers instead of using them as subcontractors.

According to this bill, introduced to the New York City Council earlier this year, warehouse operators must obtain special licenses from the city, which will require them to meet new safety, training, and employment requirements.

On Monday, the Mayor expressed his support for the bill, stating that it would also help reduce traffic accidents. According to a 2025 New York City Comptroller's report cited by him, injuries from accidents have increased in 78% of neighborhoods surrounding last-mile facilities since their opening. The Mayor accused giant businesses like Amazon of building multi-billion dollar business models while evading responsibilities through an exploitative subcontracting system.

In response, Amazon stated that if the 'Delivery Protection Act' is enacted, it would consider moving its warehouse complexes out of New York City. They also warned that this measure could jeopardize the jobs of over 5,000 delivery drivers working under their subcontractors. However, the company further emphasized that it has invested billions in safety programs since 2019 and is committed to providing fast and affordable services in a safe working environment, as well as supporting local small businesses.

If this law passes, New York City will become the first city to mandate that delivery drivers be classified as direct employees. This final stage of bringing goods to the customer's home is considered the most expensive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming part of the e-commerce supply chain. To reduce these costs, companies like FedEx and Amazon currently widely use a model based on independent contractors, where these contractors provide the vehicles and drivers for deliveries.