Amazon’s subcontracting arrangement with its delivery drivers came under scrutiny Wednesday from a bipartisan group of U.S. senators led by Connecticut’s Chris Murphy, who urged consumers to reject the conditions endured by those who deliver packages for the retail giant.
Murphy, along with 28 other lawmakers, requested information on Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner program, in which he said the company utilizes a network of subcontractors in an effort to skirt legal liability for the wages and working conditions of drivers who are functionally employees.
“Though nearly all Americans are familiar with and reliant on the services of Amazon-branded vehicles – which are operated by drivers in Amazon-branded vests who exclusively deliver packages with big, bold Amazon labels – few realize that Amazon refuses to acknowledge the workers who operate these vehicles as its legal employees,” the senators wrote in a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
During a Wednesday morning press conference, streamed on his Facebook page, Murphy said that “abysmal” working conditions along with high injury and accident rates experienced by many of the delivery drivers have led some drivers to organize unions.
Those unionization efforts were met with resistance from the retailer, according to Murphy, who said Amazon scaled back and eventually terminated the contracts of companies where workers organized.
“If you are a delivery driver that stands up for yourself, that demands better working conditions, Amazon doesn’t want anything to do with you. There will be consequences for you, for the company you work for. That’s unacceptable,” Murphy said. “Amazon needs to stop these union-busting techniques.”
In a statement Wednesday, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel called the senators’ letter “misinformed and inaccurate.”
“The safety and health of our employees, partners, and communities is our top priority, and since launching the Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program in 2018, we’ve invested more than $8 billion in state-of-the-art technologies, safety training, rates, programs, and services for DSPs and their drivers,” Nantel said.
Murphy’s letter was signed by 24 other Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, as well as three Republicans: U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, J.D. Vance of Ohio and Roger Marshall of Kansas.
It included a series of questions about the working conditions of Delivery Service Partner drivers and cited reporting suggesting drivers had endured extreme temperatures, made unsafe deliveries, and in some cases worked nearly 12 hours without access to a bathroom.
During the press conference, Brandi Diaz, a delivery driver in California and Teamster with Local 396, said drivers often deal with hazards like extreme weather conditions and animal attacks.
“I’ve personally driven in a vehicle where outside it’s 115 [degrees] but inside my van it reaches 130,” she said. “On this particular day, I had no working air conditioning. Also, my driver and passenger windows were not able to roll down. I was not able to get airflow through my vehicle to cool down.”
Amazon disputed claims that delivery vehicles lacked air conditioning in its Wednesday statement.
