On June 24, 2023, upset delivery drivers who had just been terminated formed a picket line outside an Amazon warehouse in Palmdale, California. Under the blaring light of the desert sun, they raised picket signs in protest of Amazon’s alleged worker’s rights abuses.
Battle-Tested Strategies, the company that formerly employed the disgruntled workers, was one of Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners. In 2018, Amazon created a network of Delivery Service Partners, trucking businesses that make Amazon’s last-mile deliveries to homes and businesses and serve as part of its ever-growing delivery and logistics network. Often the sole client of these Delivery Service Partners, Amazon has even encouraged its own employees to quit their jobs and start their own delivery companies so that Amazon can contract with them, offering employees $10,000 to offset startup costs.
In April 2023, Battle-Tested Strategies’ delivery drivers organized with Teamsters Local 396. Their chief concern was protection from the heat, as temperatures during long summer days in Palmdale can regularly hover above 100 degrees, making package deliveries under the beating sun or driving in vehicles with broken air conditioning particularly dangerous.
💥💥💥
AMAZON DRIVERS JOIN TEAMSTERS UNION, REACH AGREEMENT IN HISTORIC VICTORY!!!
In a historic first, Amazon drivers & dispatchers in Palmdale, CA have joined the #Teamsters and reached a strong tentative agreement containing a multitude of workplace improvements... #1u pic.twitter.com/eSzvBdLFFm— Teamsters (@Teamsters) April 24, 2023 - Twitter
As Battle-Tested Strategies agreed to a contract with the Teamsters, Amazon had to make a decision about its future. Continuing operations with Battle-Tested Strategies and the newfound Teamsters union would set a precedent: Amazon would be doing business with contractors employing unionized workers. Conversely, dismissing Battle-Tested Strategies as a contractor would send the message that unions were not compatible with Amazon’s business model. Amazon chose the latter approach, leaving over 80 drivers unemployed, frustrated and ready to picket.
💥Happening Now!
Amazon #Teamsters in Palmdale, CA are walking out today in the fight for good jobs at Amazon.
The unfair labor practice strike by Amazon drivers and dispatchers is the first strike of its kind in the US: https://t.co/lcA903tIBM #1u pic.twitter.com/AJ2Anooq2l— Teamsters (@Teamsters) June 15, 2023 - Twitter
The Teamsters have since filed a claim with the NLRB arguing that Amazon is the joint employer of these workers together with Battle-Tested Strategies. As a joint employer, Amazon would be held responsible for the working conditions, hours and wages of the drivers. Additionally, their termination of Battle-Tested Strategies, along with their delivery drivers, after unionization would leave Amazon vulnerable to an unfair labor practice charge at the National Labor Relations Board.
The Teamsters spread their picket lines across the country to Amazon distribution facilities throughout 2023. The striking delivery drivers first made an appearance outside of Palmdale in San Bernardino, California on June 26. The picketing then spread to the other coast, with workers going on strike in Carteret, New Jersey on July 7, and then in North Haven, Connecticut, and in Norwood, Massachusetts. By July 14, the picket line had spread to a warehouse in Brooklyn, New York.
@nysen_jessicaramos Those @nyteamsters sure are striking ;) #teamsterstrong #readytostrike #1u #labortok #hotlaborsummer ♬ original sound - NYSen_JessicaRamos - TikTok
For the Teamsters, organizing Amazon is the next big challenge. In 2021, they launched a nationwide campaign to make unionizing Amazon employees a top priority. One very important step in this process — holding Amazon responsible in tandem with its Delivery Service Partners — is Amazon being treated by the NLRB as a joint employer.
The NLRB charge that Amazon is a joint employer is still, as of publication, “open,” but Amazon’s attempts to evade responsibility for the treatment of its delivery drivers are now under intense scrutiny. Whether it is long hours with little pay, dangerous or extreme working conditions or Amazon’s union-busting activities, the media attention generated by Teamster picket lines and the NLRB charge will begin to determine whether all Amazon drivers have a fair shot at justice and the protection and benefits of a union.
