Workers organize with truckers and demand a union contract
SKOKIE, Illinois, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Amazon drivers at the company’s DIL7 delivery station in Skokie, Illinois, went on strike this morning over the company’s numerous violations of federal labor law. delivery giant. The 100 drivers who organized with Teamsters Local 705 in Chicago are demanding that Amazon recognize their union and negotiate a fair contract.
“I work for one of the richest men in the world and I’ve had to skip meals to make sure my son eats and my bills are paid,” said Ebony Echevarria, a striking Amazon driver. “That’s just not right. My coworkers and I are fighting for respect, decent pay, and safe working conditions for ourselves and all Amazon workers.”
Amazon workers in Skokie live paycheck to paycheck with low wages, typically paid around $20 an hour, and are rarely scheduled for a full 40-hour workweek. Workers want affordable, quality health care to replace an expensive and substandard health plan. They are also demanding safe working conditions after years of being forced to drive dangerous vans and pressured by the company not to report injuries.
“Amazon workers across the country are organizing with the Teamsters to get the pay, safety and respect they deserve,” said Randy Korgan, director of the Teamsters’ Amazon division. “Other warehouse and delivery Teamsters are on the picket line with them today because when workers are united, we are stronger than Amazon.”
Amazon avoids liability for its drivers through its Delivery Service Partner (DSP) subcontractor business model, exercising complete control over DSPs’ wages, working conditions, and safety standards. Skokie drivers organized their union at Amazon’s Four Star Express Delivery DSP.
The Teamsters recently joined Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and a bipartisan coalition of more than 30 senators to demand that Amazon cooperate with a Congressional investigation seeking information about its exploitative DSP program.
“Every Amazon driver knows who our real employer is,” said Luke Cianciotto, one of the striking Amazon drivers. “We wear their uniforms and drive their trucks. They decide whether they can hire or fire us. We make them earn their profits and organize a union with the Teamsters to get our fair share.”
Amazon drivers in Skokie were inspired by other Amazon workers, including drivers in Palmdale, California, who organized with Teamsters Local 396 and have picketed more than 30 Amazon warehouses across the country in an ongoing strike over practices unfair labor.
On June 18, Amazon warehouse workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island, New York, voted by an overwhelming 98.3 percent to join the Teamsters. More than 5,500 warehouse workers will become members of the newly formed ALU-IBT Local 1, gaining renewed representation and powerful resources to demand a contract from the trillion-dollar global corporation.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million working people in the United States, 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
kdeniz@teamster.org
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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
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