TEAMSTERS WIN GROUNDBREAKING JOINT EMPLOYER DECISION AGAINST AMAZON

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International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Aug 22, 2024, 12:45 ET

Drivers Inspire Growing Movement of Amazon Workers Organizing with Teamsters

PALMDALE, Calif., Aug. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazon delivery drivers represented by Teamsters Local 396 in Palmdale, Calif., won a groundbreaking decision that sets the stage for Amazon delivery drivers across the country to organize with the Teamsters. After more than a year-long investigation, National Labor Relations Board Region 31 (NLRB) found that Amazon is a joint employer of its Delivery Service Partner (DSP) drivers, and therefore has a legal duty to recognize and bargain with the Teamsters Union.

The NLRB Region in Los Angeles also found that Amazon engaged in a long list of egregious unfair labor practices at its Palmdale facility, including unlawfully refusing to recognize the workers' decision to unionize with the Teamsters; failing and refusing to bargain with the Teamsters over conditions of employment and the effects of its decision to terminate its DSP's contract; threatening employees with job loss; holding unlawful captive audience meetings; intimidating employees with security guards; and other illegal retaliation against the group of newly unionized workers.

The NLRB will soon issue a complaint against Amazon and prosecute the corporate giant at a trial before an NLRB judge for its serious and callous violations of workers' rights. The Teamsters are confident the NLRB's regional determination for the Palmdale workers will extend to Amazon DSP drivers who unionize nationwide. There are nearly 280,000 DSP drivers across the country.

"Amazon drivers have taken their future into their own hands and won a monumental determination that makes clear Amazon has a legal obligation to bargain with its drivers over their working conditions," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. "This strike has paved the way for every other Amazon worker in the country to demand what they deserve and to get Amazon to the bargaining table."

"Amazon can no longer dodge responsibility for our low wages and dangerous working conditions, and it cannot continue to get away with committing unfair labor practices. We are Amazon workers and we are holding Amazon accountable," said Jessie Moreno, an Amazon driver and Local 396 member in Palmdale. "We have been on strike to stop Amazon's lawbreaking and we are winning at the NLRB, while we are uniting Amazon workers across the country like never before."

In April 2023, the 84 Amazon workers from Palmdale became the first group of Amazon delivery drivers in the country to organize a union. As members of Local 396, they negotiated and ratified a contract with Amazon's DSP, Battle-Tested Strategies. Despite wielding absolute control over the drivers' terms and conditions of employment, Amazon maintained that it did not employ the workers and refused to recognize or negotiate with the Teamsters. Instead, Amazon engaged in dozens of unfair labor practices in violation of federal labor law in an effort to quash workers' organizing efforts.

Amazon Teamsters from Palmdale have been on an unfair labor strike since June 24, 2023, extending their picket line to over 50 Amazon warehouses across 10 states.

The Palmdale Teamsters have inspired other Amazon workers to take action, including drivers at Amazon's delivery station in Skokie, Ill., who launched their own unfair labor practice strike in June 2024. Skokie drivers filed unfair labor practice charges against Amazon over myriad federal labor law violations, including Amazon's failure to recognize and bargain with the Teamsters on low pay and dangerous working conditions.

"The drivers from Palmdale are showing that we can hold Amazon accountable and the way to do it is to organize a union and use our power as workers," said Michael Daddio, an Amazon driver and Teamsters Local 705 member from Skokie. "We are united with other Teamsters in our industry to win the good jobs we deserve."

Workers at other Amazon warehouses have gone on strike in recent weeks, including at the KSBD Amazon air hub facility in San Bernardino, Calif., and the KCVG Amazon air hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. In June, more than 5,500 members of the Amazon Labor Union in New York voted by an overwhelming 98.3 percent to affiliate with the Teamsters.

Amazon began hiring DSP drivers in 2018 with the launch of its DSP program, quickly becoming one of the country's largest delivery companies. Amazon has avoided responsibility for its drivers through its DSP subcontractor business model, claiming DSP drivers are not official employees of Amazon. The NLRB's joint employer determination shatters that myth and makes clear that through its DSP business model, Amazon exercises widespread control over drivers' labor and working conditions, making Amazon the drivers' employer.

"Drivers have always known that Amazon's Delivery Service Partner program is a sham and that DSP companies are not the ones that control drivers. Now the government agrees," said Brandi Diaz, an Amazon driver and Local 396 member. "We wear Amazon uniforms, we drive Amazon vans, and Amazon controls every minute of our day. Amazon can no longer have all the benefits of their own fleet of drivers without the responsibilities that come with it. The time has come for Amazon drivers across the country to organize with the Teamsters and demand what we deserve."

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.

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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters