Amazon raises delivery driver pay as union pressure intensifies | Wilnesh News

Amazon The company raised the national average wage for contracted delivery drivers from $20.50 an hour to about $22 an hour explain Thursday.

The wage increase is part of Amazon’s $2.1 billion investment this year in its Delivery Service Partners program, which consists of companies contracted to carry packages the last mile from the company’s warehouses to shoppers’ doorsteps.

The company’s announcement comes as its contract couriers face new unionization efforts.

Beryl Tomay, Amazon’s vice president of shipping, wrote in a blog post that many DSPs “already pay well above” $22 an hour. The increased rates will continue to support DSPs’ “efforts to recruit and retain high-performing teams.”

When Amazon announced the wage increase, it also held an annual closed-door conference called “Ignite Live” for these delivery contractors in Las Vegas. company A similar announcement was also made at last year’s event. Amazon said it has added more than 3,500 DSPs to the program since its launch in 2018.

The Teamsters union led several strikes against Amazon’s delivery facilities last year and has made organizing Amazon workers a priority in 2021 after forming a unit dedicated to the online retail giant.

The National Labor Relations Board has also been reviewing the company’s relationship with its contract delivery workers. Since August, the Federal Office of Labor has issued two decisions It ruled that Amazon should be considered a “joint employer” of employees of two subcontracted delivery companies. The NLRB’s decision could force Amazon to bargain with workers seeking to unionize.

Amazon has sought to avoid being designated as a common employer for its contracted delivery drivers, saying the workers are employed by third-party companies. Lawmakers and labor groups have disputed the company’s characterization that drivers wear Amazon-branded uniforms, drive Amazon-branded trucks and have Amazon set their schedules and performance expectations.

The company has previously said it disagrees with the NLRB’s findings.