From Fastcompany · · 2m
NYC wants Amazon to employ its delivery drivers
A proposed law would require Amazon to directly employ delivery workers instead of using subcontractors, potentially giving thousands new protections.
In brief
A proposed law would require Amazon to directly employ delivery workers instead of using subcontractors, potentially giving thousands new protections. New York City's proposed Delivery Protection Act would require Amazon to directly employ delivery drivers and create safety standards, upending the company's…
Amazon's delivery model today
Luc Rene wears Amazon-branded clothing and drives an Amazon-branded van delivering packages, but he is not an Amazon employee. Instead, a delivery service provider employs him.
The Delivery Protection Act
New York City's proposed bill would require companies like Amazon to directly employ delivery workers and create a licensing system with new safety, training, and labor standards.
Political support for the bill
The bill has backing from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and thirty-one of the city council's fifty-one members, enough votes to pass if brought to a vote.
Why supporters back the bill
Supporters say the Delivery Protection Act would increase street safety while providing better protection for the workers who deliver Amazon packages.
Amazon's response
Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly says the bill would threaten small delivery businesses, put the jobs of more than five thousand employees at risk, and force relocation outside the city.
“threatening the small businesses that deliver to customers, putting the jobs of more than 5,000 of their employees at risk, and forcing us to consider relocating delivery operations outside of the city”
Rene's training experience
After completing computer training in two thousand twenty-two, Rene was supposed to spend a day with an experienced driver. The driver never showed up, so he drove alone.
Safety concerns on the job
Rene was never told how to avoid injury during shifts stretching ten or more hours, so he developed his own stretching regimen before and after work.
Amazon's safety statement
Amazon's Kelly says no driver is required to complete delivery if conditions are unsafe, and neither drivers nor their delivery service provider face penalties for refusing.
“No driver is ever required to complete a delivery if conditions aren't safe, and neither they nor their DSP is penalized for making that call”
Rene's injury in two thousand twenty-three
Rene slipped and injured his knees while delivering a package in two thousand twenty-three. Unsure about accessing Amazon's medical services, he called his employer, who only asked if he could keep working.
Working through pain
Despite pain from his knee injury, Rene continued working and took painkillers to get through shifts. He feared losing pay if he could not show up to work.
“If I can't show up to work due to the pain, I won't get paid”
What the bill would change
Direct employment would give delivery workers access to benefits, protections, and standards currently unavailable under the subcontractor model Amazon uses today.
The takeaway
New York City's proposed Delivery Protection Act would require Amazon to directly employ delivery drivers and create safety standards, upending the company's subcontractor model.
