New York City Communist Mayor Zohran Mamdani backs the “Delivery Protection Act” to allegedly rein in Amazon’s power over the streets. It’s a great line to interfere with private enterprise, which Mamdani seeks to destroy, in our view.
A New York City proposal backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani calls for Amazon to hire thousands of contract couriers, threatening the e-commerce behemoth’s delivery model and offering a template for cities and states across the US to control and squeeze out the nation’s second-largest private employer.
It would also set a precedent of telling a company who they have to hire.
Mamdani wants to tell businesses who they have to hire. In this case, thousands of couriers, which will make delivery slower and costlier. It isn’t clear how this is safer. New York City streets are a mess thanks to special lanes, construction, street shutdowns, and so on.
Supporters say the Delivery Protection Act would close a loophole that lets Amazon distance itself from worker injuries and grueling conditions while also making it harder for workers to form unions. The legislation has a majority of City Council sponsorship and is expected to pass as soon as this fall.
It’s also a nod to unions. They would have to put drivers on the payroll, and the unions would then step in.
Amazon handles worker injuries through an internal on-site medical triage system called AmCare, strict internal reporting protocols, and traditional workers’ compensation insurance. However, they are under scrutiny and congressional investigations alleging high injury rates linked to strict productivity quotas, alongside accusations of downplaying or underreporting incidents. Putting the government in charge of Amazon won’t improve a thing.
Amazon, for its part, is bankrolling a $5 million campaign against the measure.
Sponsored by New York City Council Member Tiffany L. Cabán, the Delivery Protection Act would create a licensing system for certain last-mile warehouses and distribution facilities while establishing new safety, training, and labor standards.
Meanwhile, businesses continue to look at exit strategies from New York City. Demolition cleared the way for a billion-dollar Uptown tower that Morgan Stanley is eyeing in Dallas. The Dallas Morning News reports that Morgan Stanley is looking to build a new regional hub in Dallas. It would be housed in a billion-dollar high-rise in Uptown.
