Amazon has dismissed over 150 unionised delivery drivers employed by a third-party contractor in Queens, New York, according to the Teamsters union.
The drivers, who worked for Cornucopia, a delivery service provider (DSP) contracted by Amazon, were removed from their roles last week. The company works with more than 3,000 DSPs globally to deliver its packages. On Monday, workers rallied outside Amazon’s DBK4 facility in Queens in protest at the dismissals, which the Teamsters allege were in retaliation for union activity.
“Amazon is breaking the law and we let the public know it,” said Antonio Rosario, a member of Local 804 and a Teamster organiser. “Amazon workers will continue to organise and fight for what they deserve.”
Amazon rejected the claims, accusing the union of “deliberately spreading misinformation”. The company maintains that drivers employed by DSPs are not Amazon employees, and that terminating a contract with a DSP does not constitute retaliation against unionisation.
Eileen Hards, an Amazon spokesperson, described the move as “a recent change… designed to allow DSPs to be more hands-on with their teams and support their operations at one delivery station”. She said such changes “benefit their employees, but also our customers”.
‘Amazon engaged in unfair labour practices’
The dispute follows a ruling in August last year by a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) official in Los Angeles, which found Amazon had engaged in unfair labour practices when it ended its contract with Battle-Tested Strategies (BTS), a DSP in Palmdale, California, whose drivers had unionised. While the NLRB did not find the termination itself to be retaliatory, it ruled that Amazon and BTS had “unlawfully failed and refused to bargain with the union” over the effects of the decision. The NLRB deemed Amazon a joint employer of the drivers, a finding the company is appealing.
In the run-up to Christmas, the Teamsters staged strikes at eight Amazon warehouses over stalled contract negotiations on pay and working conditions.
Separately, Amazon has joined companies including SpaceX in challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB’s structure, arguing that its members cannot be removed by the president.
The US Supreme Court has stayed President Donald Trump’s attempt to remove board member Gwynne Wilcox, leaving the NLRB without a quorum to rule on major labour disputes.
