The Californer - NLRB DOUBLES DOWN: AMAZON IS A JOINT EMPLOYER

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PALMDALE, Calif., Oct. 2, 2024 ~ The National Labor Relations Board Region 31 (NLRB) has taken a significant step towards protecting the rights of Amazon's Delivery Service Partner (DSP) drivers by issuing a formal complaint against the company. The complaint affirms that Amazon is a joint employer of its DSP drivers and has a legal duty to recognize and bargain with the Teamsters Union.

According to the NLRB, Amazon has been charged with dozens of unfair labor practices in an attempt to prevent organizing efforts by Teamsters Local 396 in Palmdale, California. These practices include refusing to recognize the workers' decision to unionize, failing to bargain with the Teamsters over employment conditions, and retaliating against newly unionized workers.

Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien stated, "Amazon wants to reap the benefits of drivers' labor without having to take on any of the responsibility for their wellbeing—and those days are over." He believes that this decision brings them one step closer to getting Amazon workers fair pay, working conditions, and contracts.

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As per the complaint, Amazon is required to respond by October 15, 2024, and will face prosecution at a hearing on March 25, 2025. This sets the stage for nearly 280,000 Amazon DSP drivers nationwide to organize with the Teamsters.

Among the unfair labor practices charged in the complaint are unlawful refusal to recognize unionization efforts, failure to bargain with the Teamsters over employment conditions, threatening employees with job loss, holding captive audience meetings, intimidating employees with security guards, and other forms of retaliation.

In addition to rehiring terminated Teamsters drivers, the NLRB is also ordering Amazon to provide them with a neutral letter of reference and post an explanation of employee rights poster within their DAX8 facility for one year. They must also allow a board agent to conduct training on labor laws for all management employed at DAX8.

Bryant Cline, an Amazon driver and Local 396 member in Palmdale, expressed his satisfaction with the NLRB's decision. "Today's decision by the labor board makes official what we've long known to be true—DSP drivers are Amazon employees, and we have a fundamental right to organize, unionize, and demand fair treatment and a contract from our multibillion-dollar employer," he said.

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Last year, 84 Amazon workers from Palmdale became the first group of Amazon delivery drivers in the country to organize a union. Their actions have inspired other Amazon workers to take similar steps, including drivers at Amazon's delivery stations in Skokie, Illinois and Queens, New York.

Amazon has been able to avoid responsibility for its drivers through its DSP subcontractor business model. However, the NLRB's complaint rebuts this argument by proving that Amazon exercises widespread control over drivers' working conditions, making them their lawful employer.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, founded in 1903, represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. They can be reached at Teamster.org or on Twitter @Teamsters and Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact Kara Deniz at (202) 497-6610.

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