Delivery workers rally against NYC bill as Amazon warns of job losses

New York City delivery workers rallied against a bill that would require Amazon to employ roughly 5,000 city delivery workers directly, while worker Kris Basmagy said workers seeking a meeting with Mayor Zohran Mamdani had not received a reply.

The proposed Delivery Protection Act has drawn opposition from workers and the National Urban League, alongside support from Mamdani and City Council member Tiffany Cabán, who say it would improve safety and wages. Basmagy said workers had contacted the mayor’s office to request a meeting.

He argued that small businesses employing delivery workers could not absorb the legislation’s effects as readily as Amazon. The rally took place outside City Hall, according to the New York Post, which described about two dozen workers attending. The New York Post frames the protest as opposition by delivery workers who fear the bill’s effects on jobs and small employers.

Its account also uses sharply critical language about Mamdani, while identifying him and Cabán as proponents of the measure. The account attributes the safety-and-wage case to the mayor and council member rather than presenting it as an established outcome.

Amazon’s position, reported by the New York Daily News, is that the bill could put 5,000 jobs at risk and could lead the company to consider moving warehouses outside the city. An Amazon spokesperson said such a move would make deliveries slower and more expensive. The company also said it remains committed to its New York City employees and local business partners.

These are the company’s predictions and stated commitments, not confirmed effects of an enacted law. Opposition also comes from the National Urban League. Marc Morial told City & State that the debate should account for the ecosystem of dozens of Black businesses that hire workers for delivery and build family wealth.

He described as paternalistic the argument that the existing arrangement exploits third-party workers. City & State reports that the organization is campaigning against the legislation.

That reported opposition has a documented financial connection worth noting: the National Urban League’s website identifies Amazon as a “diamond partner,” a category tied to donations exceeding $1 million. The relationship establishes a significant partnership, but the sources do not show that it caused the organization’s position.

City & State also says the bill has Mamdani’s support, names Cabán as its sponsor, and reports that 32 other council members back it.

The dispute therefore involves competing claims about who gains or bears the costs if Amazon directly employs the delivery workforce: supporters emphasize worker safety and wages, while Basmagy and Morial point to small businesses and their employees. Amazon warns of possible job losses, warehouse moves, and slower, costlier delivery.

The coverage does not establish how the law would affect employment or whether the council will vote on it.