Queens Council Member Tiffany Cabán standing with Amazon Teamsters at the Delivery Protection Act announcement. (Credit: Katlyn Ma)
New legislation introduced by Queens City Council Member Tiffany Cabán could make New York City the first jurisdiction in the nation to ban Amazon’s controversial subcontracting model for last-mile delivery.
The Delivery Protection Act would prohibit companies like Amazon from outsourcing the final stretch of shipments to third-party Delivery Service Partners (DSPs), and instead require them to hire drivers directly.
“I think it is going to be something that is transformative for this industry,” said Cabán. “This is our opportunity to really get out in front of this as much as we can.”
The bill would also create a licensing system for last-mile delivery warehouses, mandate independent safety training and establish new protections against retaliation and unfair firings. It currently has the backing of 27 of the 51 City Council members.
Caban’s bill came as a response to the firing of 105 unionized drivers, with Teamsters Local 804, on Aug. 20 after Amazon abruptly ended its contract with Cornucopia — the company that employed them.
Lamont Hopewell, 40, one of the fired drivers, said he was on his day off when a message lit up the group chat for drivers at an Amazon facility in Queens: “It was nice knowing everybody, the company is closing.”
He first thought it was a joke. Then his coworker replied. When workers on shift returned from deliveries, they were pulled aside. One by one, they were told that the facility would close and that they should not come back. Hopewell said he had worked at the facility for almost a year.
Despite wearing Amazon uniforms, driving Amazon vans, and delivering the company’s packages, these drivers are not considered Amazon employees.
The subcontractor, Cornucopia, is “one of the largest Final Miles Logistics Companies in the tri-state area” according to its website. Although it shut down its only driver facility in New York City, Cornucopia is still hiring foot and bike couriers to deliver Amazon packages via a Manhattan location.
Columbia News Service visited Cornucopia’s Manhattan headquarters, but staff asked this reporter to leave and said they were unable to comment due to a non-disclosure agreement with Amazon. Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards said she couldn’t confirm any terms of the contract — including the NDA.
Amazon Teamsters say Amazon’s decision to terminate Cornucopia’s contract with the Queens facility is a retaliatory act for unionizing in September 2024, and for the union’s strike last December. The Teamsters have filed multiple charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
“These claims are false and this is just another example of the Teamsters deliberately spreading misinformation to advance their own agenda,” Hards said in a statement.
Amazon currently works with more than 4,400 DSPs globally, accounting for more than 390,000 jobs.
At a City Hall rally in late September announcing introduction of the bill, labor leaders and elected officials didn’t hold back.
“If you want a license, you better have a clean working record. You better treat your workers with dignity,” said Debbie Wright of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
The bill would also require third-party safety training, including how to drive defensively while meeting quotas, and a new standard making companies responsible for drivers’ safety. According to the Government Accountability Office, last-mile facility workers experience “the highest estimated rate of serious injury among private-sector industries.”
“Amazon does not give a s — t if a van hits, hurts, or kills somebody on our roads, so long as their package gets to the door and they get to put a dollar in their pocket,” Cabán said.
Meanwhile, Amazon is fighting findings in California and Georgia that state that the company is a joint employer of DSP drivers. Amazon has said those claims are without merit.
“They’re forgetting the thing is, they need us,” said Amazon delivery driver Elvis Gallardo. “Without us, there is no work getting done.”
About the author(s)
Katlyn Ma is a Stabile Investigative Fellow at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism with experience spanning the US and UK.