CNN
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Amazon delivery drivers are on strike across the US. Those on strike say 400 packages, long hours and little help are part of a regular day at work.
Amazon says the strike will not affect holiday deliveries, but the thousands of delivery drivers who went on strike hope it will move the needle on the massive company.
Thousands of delivery drivers walked off the job on Thursday, protesting not only for better working conditions and wages, but also for Amazon to recognize them as company employees.
Despite wearing Amazon vests, driving Amazon vans and delivering only Amazon packages, the company doesn’t consider many drivers to be its employees. Instead, Amazon considers those workers contracted through independent third-party companies called “Delivery Service Partners.”
In a statement, Amazon said it is “extremely proud of the DSP program.”
“We’ve empowered 4,400 entrepreneurs to build and grow their businesses, which in turn have created 390,000 jobs and generated $58 billion in revenue,” Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for Amazon, said in a statement.
Tensions between Amazon and its delivery drivers boiled over again this week as Teamsters union members continued strike at Amazon facilities in New York, Illinois, Georgia and California. Executives say they are underpaid and overworked.
Thomas Hickman, 34, a delivery driver for Amazon in Georgia, told CNN that workdays can be grueling, often taking 12 hours to deliver hundreds of packages with limited breaks.
“The pay should be better. Health insurance needs to be better,” Hickman said. “We need better working conditions. If we have over 400 packages, we need someone to be a helper with us, to ride with us.”
The Teamsters claims to represent thousands of Amazon workers nationwide. This is less than 1% of the company’s US workforce.
Amazon said in a statement that the Teamsters do not represent anyone on Amazon’s payroll.
“The Teamsters have continued to deliberately mislead the public — claiming they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers.’ They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” said Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for Amazon. .
Hickman, who has been delivering packages for Amazon for four months, said he is excited about the job and wants to enjoy working as a driver. But the excessive deliveries, emphasis on speed and lack of help have worn him down to the point where he has injured his ankle and foot on the job.
“It’s been wearing on my body,” Hickman said. “It’s been worn into everyone’s body.”
Samantha Thomas, a delivery driver for Amazon for seven months, told CNN she enjoys delivering packages and meeting people on her routes. However, she said, Amazon needs to do more to support its workers.
“We want the company to care more about us, so we can care more about the work we’re doing and show up better for it,” Thomas said.
Ash’shura Brooks, 29, started working as a delivery driver at an Amazon warehouse in Skokie, Illinois, in October 2023.
Brooks, who has a 7-year-old son, said the job put pressure on her to deliver packages quickly while dealing with long hours and a lack of safety rails.
For example, she mentioned a day when she was sent on a delivery route despite freezing temperatures. Brooks said there was no leniency with the job, contributing to the stress.
“You either sacrifice your safety to get things done faster, or you sacrifice your job to make things safer,” she said.
Brooks said she hopes people eager to receive packages for Christmas and Hanukkah can join the drivers’ demands — but first, she said she hopes Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive, will listen. the workers.
“It’s a shame that America, as a society, has come to the place of, ‘We’re putting packages and profit over people,'” Brooks said.
“These are the same people who are delivering your packages to your customers, and you care too much about profit that you’re not listening to the people who work for you,” Brooks added. “And that has to change.”
The Teamsters union cites Amazon’s $2 trillion market value as evidence that the company has more than enough resources to support its workers. Amazon reported net income of $39.2 billion in the first nine months of this year, more than double for the same period in 2023.
“The fact of the matter is they make trillions of dollars and they can’t afford to pay us for the work we do,” Hickman said.
The debate over the employer-employee relationship has been fraught with legal battles in recent years over whether Amazon is considered the driver’s employer, responsible for better wages and benefits.
Trenton Knight, a delivery driver in Georgia who has been driving for Amazon for five months, told CNN that drivers feel neglected because their work-life balance is not respected. He said it’s difficult to get a shift, but once assigned, the itinerary often takes all day. He said he is striking for better benefits and wages and for him and his fellow drivers to be recognized as Amazon workers.
“If we weren’t their workers, we wouldn’t be driving their trucks, wearing their gear, delivering their packages,” Knight said.
CNN’s Jaide Timm-Garcia, Isabel Rosales and Chris Isidore contributed reporting.