Zohran Mamdani is now setting his sights on hurting small businesses, though, if you ask him, he is trying to hold big corporations accountable.

In an announcement Monday, the New York City mayor voiced his support for the Delivery Protection Act, which would require operators of last-mile delivery facilities in New York City, primarily Amazon, to directly employ the drivers and warehouse workers who currently work for independent Delivery Service Partners (DSP). 

The policy is supposedly meant to protect workers from “exploitative subcontracting” and hold corporations like Amazon accountable. But it would not actually protect workers. It would drive up Amazon’s operating costs, put independent Delivery Service Partners out of business, and ultimately raise prices for consumers.

"Special delivery. It looks like an Amazon delivery. And it drives like an Amazon delivery. And it's an Amazon delivery. Amazon is spending millions of dollars to convince you that this isn't an Amazon delivery. But all you have to do is see for yourself. My uniform says Amazon. If I don't wear this Amazon branded vest, disciplinary action will be taken against us. The workers' routes and hours are set by Amazon. So why isn't Amazon responsible for these vans? Because Amazon and other corporations have built a vast network of subcontractors that shield them from responsibility," Mamdani said in a video posted on social media. "Amazon tells these subcontractors where to drive, who to hire, and what hours to work. I do all the work that makes Amazon all the money."

"This is why I'm proud to support the Delivery Protection Act, sponsored by Council Member Tiffany Kalan. Because if Amazon is delivering your packages, they should follow the same rules of every other delivery. When injuries and worker accidents skyrocket, Amazon says they have nothing to do with it. They can't have it both ways. By shielding themselves behind these so-called independent operators, this trillion-dollar company is able to avoid regulations on our city streets. And that's why we want to pass the Delivery Protection Act."

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What will the Delivery Protection Act actually do?

The measure would force small-business owners who operate as Delivery Service Partners to surrender ownership of their businesses and work directly under Amazon, or risk being pushed out of business altogether. It would also drive up costs for New Yorkers who voted for Mamdani hoping he would ease the city’s affordability crisis. Amazon projects that the bill would increase household spending by $664 per year. 

The bill also fails to truly “hold Amazon accountable.” Making delivery drivers direct Amazon employees and imposing additional safety-training requirements will not magically eliminate aggressive scheduling practices or injury risks. It will simply shift the liability paperwork to Amazon, raise the company’s costs, and pass those costs on to consumers. 

Another major force behind this push is Mamdani’s kowtowing to New York City’s unions. Unions benefit when workers operate under a single corporate entity because it makes them easier to organize. By forcing Delivery Service Partners and their employees under Amazon’s corporate umbrella, the bill would hand labor organizers a major advantage, essentially functioning as a government backed cheat code for unionization. 

And for all their rhetoric against monopolies, Mamdani and his fellow socialists seem more than willing to support monopoly power in the labor market, especially in New York City.

This is yet another reality of socialism: its leaders are accountable to unions, driven by hostility toward wealth and large corporations, and indifferent to the damage their policies inflict on ordinary people. Amazon may absorb some of the added costs, but everyday New Yorkers will feel them first, and feel them most, in higher prices, fewer small businesses, and fewer opportunities.