AMAZON DRIVERS IN QUEENS, NEW YORK JOIN TEAMSTERS UNION

News provided by

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Sep 16, 2024, 14:07 ET

Drivers Join Hundreds of Amazon Delivery Workers from California, Illinois to Organize with Teamsters

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazon drivers across three Delivery Service Partners (DSPs) in New York City are demanding Amazon recognize their union and negotiate a Teamsters contract. The workers announced that a majority of drivers at each of the DSPs have signed authorization cards to organize with the Teamsters Union and delivered the demand to Amazon this morning. The hundreds of Amazon drivers all operate out of the DBK4 Amazon delivery warehouse in Queens.

"Hundreds of Amazon delivery drivers from Queens will now have the full backing of more than 1.3 million Teamsters nationwide," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. "The NLRB made clear that Amazon has a legal obligation to bargain with its drivers and meet them at the negotiating table to improve wages, working conditions, safety standards, and everything in between. Amazon knows its time is up—these workers from Queens, along with Amazon Teamsters in Skokie, Ill. and Palmdale, Calif., are going to get the Teamsters contracts they deserve."

For over a year, the Queens-based drivers have been organizing for better working conditions and fair pay, including walking off the job last December against Amazon's union-busting tactics and unfair labor practices. The drivers have been outspoken in their demands for consistent schedules, properly maintained trucks, and reasonable workloads.

Today's announcement comes as Amazon DSP drivers nationwide organize in droves in a fight for better pay, safe working conditions, and a voice on the job, including Amazon Teamsters from Palmdale and Skokie, who are currently on strike and extending their picket lines to facilities across the country. Just this week, in response to growing pressure by Amazon workers organizing with the Teamsters, the company announced raises for Amazon drivers.

"We're proud to join the growing movement of Amazon Teamsters who are ready to fight alongside our union brothers and sisters for what we deserve," said David Colon, an Amazon driver from DBK4 in Queens. "For too long, we have been demanding better pay and working conditions from Amazon while they have tried to dodge responsibility for us. Those days are over, and we're ready to fight like hell with the Teamsters to get what we deserve. What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong."

Last month, Palmdale drivers secured a monumental victory when National Labor Relations Board Region 31 made a determination that Amazon is a joint employer of its DSP drivers, and therefore has a legal duty to recognize and bargain with the Teamsters. This determination sets a major precedent and is expected to extend to Amazon DSP drivers who unionize nationwide. The Queens-based drivers are the first to publicly announce their organizing at a new facility and demand recognition following the historic NLRB decision. As momentum builds, all eyes are turning to the nearly 280,000 Amazon DSP drivers across the country.

"Any Amazon driver knows the truth: we wear Amazon uniforms, we drive Amazon's trucks, we live by Amazon's workplace standards—we are Amazon employees," said Latrice Shadae Johnson, an Amazon driver from DBK4 in Queens. "Amazon has no choice but to meet us at the negotiating table to hear our demands. We are proud to be Teamsters and join forces with other delivery workers across the industry."

"We've seen what the Amazon Teamsters movement can do and we're ready to join forces as a union to make Amazon give us what we deserve," said Luc Rene, an Amazon driver from DBK4 in Queens. "We're the reason Amazon makes billions in profits every year, and with support from our Teamsters brothers and sisters, we're going to get our fair share."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:
Kara Deniz, (202) 497-6610
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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters