CNN
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Amazon supply drivers are on strike in 4 states throughout the US. Those on strike say that 400 packages, lengthy hours and little assist are a part of an everyday day at work.
Amazon says that the strike gained’t have an effect on vacation deliveries, however the supply drivers who went on strike are hoping it strikes the needle on the large firm.
The Teamsters union, who declare to signify lower than 1% of the corporate’s US workforce, arrange picket traces not simply on the struck services, however at different Amazon distribution facilities throughout the nation as effectively. Those picket traces had been typically staffed by Teamsters employed by different corporations, not from Amazon or its supply contractors. The union stated Friday that these protests had expanded to 199 services nationwide, though the protests didn’t embody any work stoppage by any of the drivers making deliveries.
The drivers on strike are protesting not only for higher working circumstances and pay, but in addition for Amazon to acknowledge them as firm staff. (The Teamsters says 1000’s of drivers are on strike; Amazon disputes that quantity and stated it doesn’t contemplate this a strike.)
Despite carrying Amazon vests, driving Amazon vans and delivering solely Amazon packages, the corporate doesn’t contemplate many drivers to be its staff. Rather, Amazon considers them contracted staff via impartial third-party corporations known as “Delivery Service Partners.”
In a press release, Amazon stated that it’s “extremely pleased with the DSP program.”
“We’ve empowered 4,400 entrepreneurs to construct and scale their companies, which in flip have created 390,000 driving jobs and generated $58 billion in income,” Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon, stated in a press release.
But the drivers say they’re underpaid and overworked.
Thomas Hickman, 34, a supply driver for Amazon in Georgia, advised CNN that workdays might be grueling, typically taking 12 hours to ship a whole lot of packages with restricted breaks.
“The pay must be higher. The medical insurance must be higher,” Hickman stated. “We want higher working circumstances. If we do have 400-plus packages, we want somebody to be a helper with us, to journey with us.”
Amazon disputes that drivers don’t have sufficient time for breaks, saying that they’ve no less than an hour of break time all through the day cut up up into two 15-minute segments and one 30-minute section for meals. An Amazon spokesperson added that Amazon’s routing expertise leads to “the overwhelming majority of drivers ending their routes early or on time.”
Amazon stated in a press release that the Teamsters don’t signify anybody on the Amazon payroll.
“The Teamsters have continued to deliberately mislead the general public – claiming that they signify ‘1000’s of Amazon staff and drivers’. They don’t, and that is one other try and push a false narrative,” stated Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon.
Hickman, who has been delivering packages for Amazon for 4 months, stated he was excited in regards to the job and desires to get pleasure from working as a driver. But the extreme deliveries, emphasis on velocity and lack of help have worn on him to the purpose the place he injured his ankle and leg whereas on the job.
“It’s been put on and tear on my physique,” Hickman stated. “It’s been put on and tear on everyone’s physique.”
However, the corporate advised CNN that the impartial contractors who’ve the supply contracts are accountable for the working circumstances of the drivers, and that drivers’ security is a significant concern in deliveries.
“The security of staff and drivers are our high precedence, and no driver is ever anticipated to make a supply in the event that they really feel unsafe or really feel unwell,” the corporate advised CNN.
Samantha Thomas, a supply driver for Amazon for seven months, advised CNN that she enjoys delivering packages and assembly folks on her routes. Yet, she stated, Amazon must do extra to assist its staff.
“We need for the corporate to care about us extra, in order that we are able to care extra in regards to the job we’re doing and present up higher for this job,” Thomas stated.
Ash’shura Brooks, 29, started working as a supply driver at an Amazon warehouse in Skokie, Illinois, in October 2023.
Brooks, who has a 7-year-old son, stated the job put strain on her to ship packages shortly whereas coping with lengthy hours and a scarcity of security guardrails.
For instance, she cited in the future when she was despatched out on a supply route regardless of freezing temperatures. Brooks stated there was no leniency with the job, contributing to emphasize.
“You both sacrifice your security in an effort to get issues performed quicker, otherwise you sacrifice your job in an effort to do issues extra safely,” she stated.
Brooks stated she hopes people who find themselves wanting to obtain packages for Christmas and Hanukkah can empathize with the drivers’ calls for — however primarily, she stated she hopes Jeff Bezos, the chief chairman of Amazon, listens to the employees.
“It is a disgrace that America, as a society, has come to the place of, ‘We are placing packages and revenue over folks,’” Brooks stated.
“These are the identical folks which are delivering your packages to your clients, and also you care an excessive amount of in regards to the revenue that you’re not listening to the people who find themselves working for you,” Brooks added. “And that should change.”
The Teamsters union cites Amazon’s $2 trillion market worth as proof that the corporate has greater than sufficient assets to assist its staff. Amazon reported a web revenue of $39.2 billion within the first 9 months of this yr, greater than double for a similar interval in 2023.
“The reality of the matter is that they make trillions of {dollars}, they usually’re not capable of pay us for the work that we do,” Hickman stated.
The debate over the employer-employee relationship has proved fraught in recent times, with authorized battles over whether or not Amazon is taken into account the drivers’ employer, accountable for higher wages and advantages.
Trenton Knight, a supply driver in Georgia who has pushed for Amazon for 5 months, advised CNN that drivers really feel uncared for as a result of their work-life steadiness will not be revered. He stated it’s tough to get a shift, however as soon as assigned, the route typically takes the complete day. He stated he’s hanging for higher advantages and wages, and for him and his fellow drivers to be acknowledged as Amazon staff.
“If we weren’t their staff, we wouldn’t be driving their vans, we wouldn’t be carrying their gear, we wouldn’t be delivering their packages,” Knight stated.
This story has been up to date with further context and developments.
CNN’s Jaide Timm-Garcia, Isabel Rosales and Chris Isidore contributed to reporting.
