PALMDALE, Calif. (KERO) — More than 80 union delivery drivers and dispatchers for Amazon staged a walkout at the company’s Palmdale warehouse on Thurs, June 15.
The group joined the union "Teamsters" in April, hoping for better pay and improved and safer working conditions.
The union drivers and dispatchers are officially employed by Battle Tested Strategies, which contracts with Amazon. Despite the drivers not being employed by Amazon, Teamsters still attribute their issues to Amazon, saying the company is not budging on negotiating better pay and improved working conditions for the workers.
"[While] Negotiating collective bargaining with Battle Tested Strategies, [it] becomes more and more apparent that Amazon is the true employer," said Shaun Martinez, a representative for Teamster. "They control almost every aspect of Battle Tested Strategies' operation. So we've actually reached out to Amazon to try to rectify some of these issues. They refuse to negotiate with us."
Amazon issued a statement on the heels of the one-day walkout.
"While we respect everyone’s right to express their opinions, the facts here are being intentionally misrepresented by the Teamsters and BTLT. This company has a history of underperformance and not providing a safe environment and was notified that Amazon was ending their contract before the Teamsters got involved to try and re-write the facts."
