Amazon may be forced to come to the bargaining table with some unionized delivery workers after a director of the regional National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found Thursday that Amazon is a joint employer of contractors tasked with ensuring the e-commerce giant delivers its packages as promised.
This appears to be a potentially major loss for Amazon, which had long argued that delivery service partners (DSPs) exclusively employed delivery drivers, not Amazon. In rejecting its employer status, Amazon had previously argued that it was not obligated to negotiate with drivers' unions and bore no responsibility for alleged union busting, the Washington Post reported.
But now, after a year-long investigation, the NLRB has made a decision that the Amazon delivery workers union says is “groundbreaking and lays the groundwork for Amazon delivery workers across the country to organize alongside the Teamsters.”
In a press release reviewed by Ars, the NLRB's regional director confirmed that Amazon, as a joint employer, “unlawfully failed and refused to negotiate with the union” after terminating the contract with its DSP and firing “all unionized employees.” The NLRB found that instead of negotiating with the union, Amazon “delayed start times by leaving delivery trucks on the ground and failing to prepare packages for loading,” withheld information from the union, and “made unlawful threats.” The Teamsters said those threats included “job loss” and “intimidation of employees by security guards.”
Sean M. O'Brien, president of the Teamsters, announced that the unionization of drivers was successful not only in California, but for nearly 280,000 drivers across the country.
“Amazon drivers have taken their future into their own hands and won a landmark victory that makes clear that Amazon is legally obligated to negotiate with its drivers over their working conditions,” O'Brien said. “This strike has paved the way for all other Amazon workers in the country to demand what they deserve and bring Amazon to the bargaining table.”
If no agreement is reached, the NLRB will soon “file a complaint against Amazon and take the corporate giant to court” after finding that “Amazon has engaged in a long list of egregious unfair labor practices at its Palmdale facility,” the Teamsters said.
Amazon appears to be downplaying the NLRB's decision, claiming the Teamsters are trying to “misrepresent what happened here.” Amazon appears to be contradicting the union, claiming that an NLRB decision on the matter would be a major victory, even though the NLRB has not yet made a final decision.
According to the NLRB press release, “the talent evaluation is not a 'board decision/determination' – it is the first step in the legal prosecution of allegations by the NLRB General Counsel following the investigation of an unfair labor practice allegation.”
Amazon spokeswoman Eileen Hards told Ars that the NLRB office confirmed to Amazon that it would “dismiss most of the more serious claims the Teamsters filed in Palmdale last year.” This apparently includes the dismissal of the Teamsters' claims that Amazon improperly terminated its contract with one of its DSPs and was legally obligated to honor the Teamsters' contract with that DSP.
Next, the NLRB will decide whether the “remaining allegations should be decided by an administrative law judge,” Hards said. After that, Amazon will have the opportunity to appeal any unfavorable decisions, first to the board and then to a federal appeals court, the NLRB confirmed to Ars.
Hards confirmed that Amazon continues to expect all remaining Teamsters lawsuits to be dismissed.
“As we have said throughout, the Teamsters' allegations are without merit,” Hards told Ars. “If and when the agency decides to pursue the remaining allegations, we expect those will be dismissed as well.”
Hards, however, declined to comment on the impact of the NLRB's finding that Amazon is a joint employer of the unionized delivery workers.
An Amazon driver in Palmdale, Jessie Moreno, said working conditions for Amazon drivers could improve as a result of the decision.
“Amazon can no longer evade responsibility for our low wages and dangerous working conditions, and cannot continue to commit unfair labor practices with impunity,” Moreno said. “We are Amazon workers and we will hold Amazon accountable.”
Amazon drivers unite “like never before”
The NLRB's decision followed a complaint filed by 84 Amazon workers from Palmdale, California, who became the first Amazon delivery workers to join a union in April 2023 and are represented by Teamsters Local 396.
Although their DSP recognized the union, workers began an unfair labor strike in June 2023 after Amazon allegedly “used dozens of unfair labor practices in violation of federal labor law to suppress workers' union organizing efforts,” the Teamsters said.
The picket line quickly expanded “to over 50 Amazon warehouses in 10 states,” the Teamsters said. Most recently, drivers in Skokie, Illinois, “launched their own strike against unfair labor practices in June 2024,” around the same time that “more than 5,500 members of the Amazon union in New York voted overwhelmingly, 98.3 percent, to join the Teamsters.”
In their blog, the Teamsters said that Amazon has been “evading responsibility for its drivers through its DSP subcontractor business model” since 2018, but drivers hope that yesterday's NLRB decision could put an end to this shady tactic.
“The NLRB's joint employer decision shatters the myth” that “DSP drivers are not official employees of Amazon” and “makes clear that Amazon, through its DSP business model, exercises extensive control over drivers' labor and working conditions, thereby making Amazon the drivers' employer,” the Teamsters said.
The Teamsters said they were “confident” that “the NLRB's regional decision for Palmdale workers will extend to Amazon DSP drivers who are unionizing nationwide.” One union member and Amazon driver, Brandi Diaz, celebrated what she believes is the U.S. government's recognition that the DSP program is a “disgrace.”
“We wear Amazon uniforms, we drive Amazon delivery trucks, and Amazon controls every minute of our day,” Diaz said. “Amazon can no longer reap all the benefits of its own driver fleet without the responsibility that comes with it. It's time for Amazon drivers across the country to join forces with the Teamsters and demand what is rightfully ours.”
The drivers are currently fighting for higher wages and better safety, as they say they face unfettered and dangerous conditions as Amazon drivers. Moreno said the NLRB's decision is an important step toward unionizing more drivers and putting an end to Amazon's alleged unfair labor practices nationwide.
“We went on strike to stop Amazon’s lawbreaking, and we are winning at the NLRB while uniting Amazon workers across the country like never before,” Moreno said.