The News
Tractor-trailer drivers employed by Amazon at its OIL9 site in Merrillville, Indiana, have joined Teamsters Local 142 and are demanding that Amazon recognize the union and bargain a first contract, the Teamsters said.
“Amazon wasn’t going to listen to us as individuals, so the only option was to join together as Teamsters,” said Charles Hurd, a driver at OIL9.
The drivers want better pay and safety standards written into a contract, the union said.
The details
These drivers work for Amazon directly. They belong to its Transportation Operations Management, or TOM, team, and move freight between Amazon facilities before the last mile.
They hold commercial driver’s licenses, according to the union.
Amazon’s last-mile drivers, by contrast, are employed through its Delivery Service Partner contractors.
OIL9 is the first Amazon site in Indiana where drivers have joined the Teamsters, the union said.
Merrillville is the third TOM team site to organize. The first two are in Kentucky and Missouri.
TOM team drivers at SDF9 in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, and MCI9 in Liberty, Missouri, organized earlier, per the Teamsters.
“Amazon Teamsters are proud to expand our national footprint,” said Randy Korgan, director of the Teamsters Amazon Division.
The union is organizing at both ends of Amazon’s network. Delivery drivers at a Queens station joined this month.
Drivers at DBK1 in Woodside, Queens, who work for a Delivery Service Partner, joined Teamsters Local 804, the union said. The Teamsters say more than 10,000 Amazon workers have organized with them nationwide.
A New York City bill, the Delivery Protection Act, would require companies to employ their delivery drivers directly, according to the union.
The Teamsters struck seven Amazon facilities during the 2024 holiday rush, PBS reported.
What’s next
The drivers have asked Amazon to recognize the union and bargain. Amazon has not responded publicly.
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