Amazon delivery drivers in California join Teamsters in historic first!
Palmdale, California - Amazon delivery drivers in Palmdale, California, made history on Monday by joining the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union and negotiating their first contract agreement.
The 84 delivery drivers successfully reached a tentative contract agreement with their employer, Battle-Tested Strategies, an Amazon contractor.
The group, which works out of the DAX8 facility, are the first of the e-commerce giant's delivery service provider employees to unionize and negotiate a contract agreement.
Battle-Tested Strategies reportedly agreed to voluntarily recognize the union.
The tentative contract, which will go to workers for a vote in the coming weeks, includes wage increases, hourly pay raises in the fall, measures to boost enforcement of health and safety standards, and more.
"We want fair pay and safe jobs, to be able to provide food for our families. We want to know we will make it home to our families at night after delivering Amazon packages in the extreme heat," Rajpal Singh, an Amazon driver in Palmdale, said in a Teamsters press release. "We organized with the Teamsters to change our working conditions for the better."
"We deliver in an Amazon van, wearing an Amazon uniform, but when we petition Amazon, they ignore us. We have a mass of support, we are a union, and now they need to listen," he added.
Amazon puts Battle-Tested Strategies on notice
In the aftermath of the announcement, Amazon said it had notified Battle-Tested Strategies that its contract would end, claiming poor performance as the reason for the break.
The retail giant said the contractor had already given the delivery service provider notice before the news of the union and contract agreement went public.
If Amazon no longer has a relationship with Battle-Tested Strategies, it would not be under any obligations to honor the terms of the agreement.
Workers marched in Palmdale on Monday, calling on Amazon to respect their right to form a union and accept the conditions of the contract agreement.
Cover photo: Screenshot/Twitter/Teamsters