Labor leaders and trucking industry advocates have locked horns over proposed New York City legislation that would overhaul last-mile delivery operations and effectively ban third-party logistics models.
The Delivery Protection Act, authored by City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán (D-Queens), requires companies operating last-mile distribution facilities to obtain city licenses, establish minimum safety and training standards, and directly hire their delivery workforces.
If passed, the measure would outlaw Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner (DSP) system in the five boroughs—an arrangement that union leaders condemn as abusive, but trucking advocates warn provides crucial economic opportunities for small businesses.
Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman rallied alongside local officials and union members Monday to demand the City Council pass the bill.
"Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner model is the most dangerous business model in America today," O'Brien said. "It allows Amazon to break the law while hiding behind shell companies it has total control over."
An Amazon DSP is an independent small business that contracts with Amazon to provide package delivery services, allowing Amazon to use a network of localized third-party businesses rather than directly employing a delivery fleet. The owners themselves manage their team of drivers and oversee the fleet.
Union representatives pointed to instances of abrupt job losses, including Latrice Johnson, a worker from a Queens Amazon facility who said her DSP closed overnight.
"When Amazon shut down my DSP... they gave us less than a day’s notice and did it over text," Johnson said. "No company should have that power over workers."
Opponents argue the legislation misinterprets standard logistics practices and threatens small, local transportation firms.
Zach Miller, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Trucking Association of New York (TANY), said the bill risks cutting off a proven pathway to business ownership for women, minority entrepreneurs, veterans, and justice-impacted individuals.
"Trucks are the backbone of New York City's economy, transporting almost 90% of the goods that keep our businesses operating," Miller said. "We should be creating more prospects for New Yorkers to become business owners, not adopting policies that make it harder for small, local transportation companies to compete and push the city toward relying on larger trucks brought in from farther away."
Miller added that contracting relationships between suppliers and motor carriers have moved freight efficiently for generations, regardless of whether a delivery ends at a retail warehouse or a homeowner's front porch.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani supports the proposal, noting that the current arrangement allows corporations to build "billion-dollar business models by insulating themselves from accountability through a system of exploitative subcontracting.
"As last-mile delivery centers have exploded across New York, so too have traffic accidents and worker injuries," Mamdani added. “New Yorkers should not be forced to subsidize corporate profits with less safe streets and more precarious jobs. The people who make these companies run deserve dignity, stability and a safe workplace. It's time to end the subcontracting model that puts profits over people and build an economy that works for working New Yorkers.”
