‘Packages and profits over people’: What it’s like to be an Amazon driver and why some are on strike

(CNN) — Amazon delivery drivers are on strike across the US. Those on strike say that 400 packages, long hours and little help are part of a regular day at work.

Amazon says that the strike won’t have an impact on holiday deliveries, but the thousands of delivery drivers who went on strike are hoping it moves the needle at the massive company.

Thousands of delivery drivers walked off the job on Thursday, protesting not just for better working conditions and pay, but also for Amazon to recognize them as company employees.

Despite wearing Amazon vests, driving Amazon vans and delivering only Amazon packages, the company does not consider many drivers to be its employees. Rather, Amazon considers them contracted workers through independent third-party companies called “Delivery Service Partners.”

In a statement, Amazon said that it’s “incredibly proud of the DSP program.”

“We’ve empowered 4,400 entrepreneurs to build and scale their businesses, which in turn have created 390,000 driving jobs and generated $58 billion in revenue,” Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon, said in a statement.

The tension between Amazon and its delivery drivers boiled over again this week as members of the Teamsters union went on strike at Amazon facilities across New York, Illinois, Georgia and California. The drivers say they are underpaid and overworked.

Thomas Hickman, 34, a delivery driver for Amazon in Georgia, told CNN that workdays can be grueling, often taking 12 hours to deliver hundreds of packages with limited breaks.

“The pay needs to be better. The health insurance needs to be better,” Hickman said. “We need better working conditions. If we do have 400-plus packages, we need someone to be a helper with us, to ride with us.”

The Teamsters claims to represent thousands of Amazon workers nationwide. That accounts for less than 1% of the company’s US workforce.

Amazon said in a statement that the Teamsters do not represent anyone on the Amazon payroll.

“The Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers’. They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” said Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon.

Long days, little help

Hickman, who has been delivering packages for Amazon for four months, said he was excited about the job and wants to enjoy working as a driver. But the excessive deliveries, emphasis on speed and lack of assistance have worn on him to the point where he injured his ankle and leg while on the job.

“It’s been wear and tear on my body,” Hickman said. “It’s been wear and tear on everybody’s body.”

Samantha Thomas, a delivery driver for Amazon for seven months, told CNN that she enjoys delivering packages and meeting people on her routes. Yet, she said, Amazon needs to do more to support its workers.

“We want for the company to care about us more, so that we can care more about the job we’re doing and show up better for this job,” Thomas said.

Ash’shura Brooks, 29, began working as a delivery driver at an Amazon warehouse in Skokie, Illinois, in October 2023.

Brooks, who has a 7-year-old son, said the job put pressure on her to deliver packages quickly while dealing with long hours and a lack of safety guardrails.

For example, she cited one day when she was sent out on a delivery route despite freezing temperatures. Brooks said there was no leniency with the job, contributing to stress.

“You either sacrifice your safety in order to get things done faster, or you sacrifice your job in order to do things more safely,” she said.

Brooks said she hopes people who are eager to receive packages for Christmas and Hanukkah can empathize with the drivers’ demands — but primarily, she said she hopes Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon, listens to the workers.

“It is a shame that America, as a society, has come to the place of, ‘We are putting packages and profit over people,’” Brooks said.

“These are the same people that are delivering your packages to your customers, and you care too much about the profit that you are not listening to the people who are working for you,” Brooks added. “And that needs to change.”

The Teamsters union cites Amazon’s $2 trillion market value as evidence that the company has more than enough resources to support its workers. Amazon reported a net income of $39.2 billion in the first nine months of this year, more than double for the same period in 2023.

“The fact of the matter is they make trillions of dollars, and they’re not able to pay us for the work that we do,” Hickman said.

Amazon says they aren’t Amazon workers

The debate over the employer-employee relationship has proved fraught in recent years, with legal battles over whether Amazon is considered the drivers’ employer, responsible for better wages and benefits.

Trenton Knight, a delivery driver in Georgia who has driven for Amazon for five months, told CNN that drivers feel neglected because their work-life balance is not respected. He said it is difficult to get a shift, but once assigned, the route often takes the entire day. He said he is striking for better benefits and wages, and for him and his fellow drivers to be recognized as Amazon workers.

“If we weren’t their workers, we wouldn’t be driving their trucks, we wouldn’t be wearing their gear, we wouldn’t be delivering their packages,” Knight said.

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Contributing: Jaide Timm-Garcia, Isabel Rosales and Chris Isidore, CNN