Workers Organize with the Teamsters, Demand
a Union Contract
SKOKIE,
Ill, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazon
drivers at the company's DIL7 delivery station in Skokie, Ill., went on strike this morning over
the delivery giant's numerous violations of federal labor law. The
100 drivers who organized with Teamsters Local 705 in Chicago are demanding Amazon recognize their
union and bargain 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 child eats and my bills are paid," said
Ebony Echevarria, a striking Amazon
driver. "That's just not right. My co-workers and I are fighting
for respect, decent pay, and safe working conditions for us and for
all Amazon workers."
Amazon workers in Skokie live
paycheck to paycheck off low wages, typically being paid around
$20 per hour, and are rarely
scheduled a full 40-hour work week. The workers want affordable,
quality health care to replace an expensive, subpar 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 around the country are organizing with the
Teamsters to get the pay, safety and respect that they deserve,"
said Randy Korgan, Director of the
Teamsters Amazon Division. "Other warehousing and delivery
Teamsters are on the picket line with them today because when
workers are united, we are stronger than Amazon."
Amazon dodges responsibility for its drivers through its
Delivery Service Partner (DSP) subcontractor business model,
exercising total control over the wages, workplace conditions, and
safety standards of the DSPs. The drivers in Skokie 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 over 30
Senators in demanding that Amazon cooperate with a Congressional
inquiry requesting information on its exploitative DSP program.
"Every Amazon driver knows who our true employer is," said
Luke Cianciotto, one of the striking Amazon drivers. "We wear
their uniforms and drive their trucks. They decide whether we can
be hired or fired. We make them their profits and we organized a
union with the Teamsters for our fair share."
Amazon drivers in Skokie were
inspired by other Amazon workers, including drivers from
Palmdale, Calif., who organized
with Teamsters Local 396 and have picketed over 30 Amazon
warehouses around the country in an ongoing unfair labor practice
strike.
On June 18, Amazon warehouse
workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten
Island, N.Y., voted by an overwhelming 98.3 percent in favor
of affiliating with the Teamsters. More than 5,500 warehouse
workers will be members of newly chartered 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 hardworking people in the U.S., 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