Mamdani, Targeting ‘Big Companies Like Amazon,’ Threatens Small Delivery ‘Subcontractors’ and Consumers

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is backing the Delivery Protection Act to ban distributors like Amazon and FedEx from hiring “last-mile” subcontractors. The city council bill is the latest idea by a socialist who, lacking private-sector experience, aims to clamp down on corporations even if consumers and small businesses feel the pinch.“If it looks like an Amazon delivery and drives like an Amazon delivery,” Mr. Mamdani posted Monday on X, “then it’s an Amazon delivery, right? Not according to Amazon.” Not quite right, but the mayor says that “big companies” have “a vast network of subcontractors who deliver … while shielding them from accountability.”“It’s time,” Mr. Mamdani says, “for a change,” as if some celestial clock is knelling the death of a ubiquitous business model. He says he is “proud … to crack down on exploitative subcontracting and build an economy that works for everyone.”Mr. Mamdani imagines a problem where none exists and casts the state as its solution. Yet the delivery economy, powered by the internet, is already a boon for all. It lets small sellers access infinite markets and serves customers a range of choices while tiny delivery companies facilitate sales.Americans’ primary concerns are that goods arrive on time and undamaged at the best price. As for accountability, companies can’t survive if they don’t answer to their customers. Seconds after a package arrives, customers are invited to rate the transaction via Amazon’s app. FedEx offers online tracking.Letters representing Amazon Labor Union adorn a fence adjacent to the Amazon distribution center on Staten Island at New York on Oct. 25, 2021. AP/Craig RuttleEmployees who drop off Amazon parcels take photographs of them at their destination. This ensures that the job gets done right, documenting that goods arrive when, where, and how a buyer wants them. It’s hard to name a government bureaucracy that’s as responsible.Amazon handles between 15 million and 17 million such orders a day in America. FedEx delivers 14.8 million domestic parcels. Mr. Mamdani says that logistical miracle “leaves our workers unprotected and our streets less safe.” He implies that subcontractors are somehow exempt from employment regulations and traffic laws.In an accompanying video, Mr. Mamdani says that Amazon is “spending millions” to oppose the bill. One driver laments that he must wear an Amazon vest “or disciplinary action will be taken.” The company also sets his “routes and hours,” which is the essence of the job.“Amazon tells me where to drive,” says another man, as if he’d prefer to decide where to drop off inventory. “Why,” a colleague asks, “isn’t Amazon responsible for these vans?” It’s like asking why taxi passengers don’t hop out and change flat tires.Mayor Zohran Mamdani lights the Empire State Building in celebration of America 250 at New York City on July 4, 2026. John Nacion/Getty ImagesThe Delivery Protection Act’s sponsor, Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán, dismisses subcontractors as “so-called independent operators,” implying deception. Their use, Ms. Cabán says, allows distributors to avoid “liability.” Yet companies do so for the same reason people hire contractors whose insurance covers what homeowner’s policies don’t. Should the bill pass, Amazon and FedEx won’t assume more risk any more than a DIYer purchases a plumber’s policy to change a faucet.Companies could gobble up smaller companies and go right on telling drivers the routes to drive, how to dress, and when to show up for work. Yet Amazon plans to move distribution hubs out of New York City, removing more than 5,000 jobs and delaying deliveries.Amazon estimates that this disruption could add $5.20 per package and cost households $664 per year. Both Amazon and FedEx have unmanned drop-off and pickup locations, too. These could be expanded, costing jobs and adding a new inconvenience to living and working in Gotham.These results are foreseeable when companies respond to government pressure in the free market. But unions back the legislation, and Mr. Mamdani favors the unionization of all Amazon employees. He may judge that furthering that goal is worth any pain to the public.The Delivery Protection Act, with a large majority of the City Council as co-sponsors, is packed up and ready to go. But as with anything the government sets out to fix when it’s not broken, expect the new law to fall short of delivering on its promises.

Mamdani, Targeting ‘Big Companies Like Amazon,’ Threatens Small Delivery ‘Subcontractors’ and Consumers

Mamdani, Targeting ‘Big Companies Like Amazon,’ Threatens Small Delivery ‘Subcontractors’ and Consumers

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