Senators, Teamsters Call Out Amazon’s ‘Exploitative’ Delivery Service Partner Program

Jennifer Bringle
·5 min read
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A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators and the Teamsters Union are asking Amazon to explain itself regarding what they call “persistent mistreatment” of Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program drivers.

The group led by Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Wednesday, requesting information about the company’s DSP program. The letter detailed dangerous working conditions and requested Amazon’s justification for refusing to bargain with union representatives for the drivers.

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“Even though Amazon reportedly exercises near-total control over the wages and working conditions of its delivery drivers, it appears to avoid legal liability through a network of delivery service partners—supposedly independent businesses that contract with Amazon,” the letter said. “On paper, Amazon claims that these DSPs are the real employers of its delivery drivers. But as has been reported, DSPs have little discretion over key aspects of their businesses, which means that Amazon may be required to shoulder legal responsibility as an employer of DSP drivers.”

The letter outlined accusations of driver mistreatment by Amazon, such as being made to work in extreme heat without air conditioning, being forced to deliver in winter weather without proper equipment such as chains and snow tires, and being forced to work up to 12 hours without bathroom breaks.

“In 2021, researchers used publicly disclosed OSHA 300A summary data to estimate that DSP drivers were injured at a rate of 18.3 injuries per 100 workers in 2021,” the letter said. “In other words, nearly one in five drivers was injured on the job. This represented a shocking 38 percent increase over the 2020 injury rate.”

According to the letter, Amazon also faces numerous allegations of violations of the National Labor Relations Act, including “refusal to recognize and bargain with workers who recently voted to unionize with the Teamsters, holding captive audience meetings to stifle worker organizing efforts, reducing DSP routes in response to union activity and terminating DSP employees in retaliation for union organizing and other protected activities.”

Last year, 84 Amazon DSP workers in Palmdale, Calif., became the first unionized Amazon delivery drivers in the nation after joining the Teamsters Union. Those workers bargained a contract with Amazon DSP Battle-Tested Strategies, but Amazon refused to recognize and honor the contract. In response, the workers have been on strike since June 2023.

“Amazon controls every facet of the job for DSP drivers, including their routes, vehicles and uniforms, and subjects them to constant surveillance and harassment. Yet Amazon claims these workers are not its employees. It’s a joke. Everyone knows these are Amazon drivers,” said Teamsters general president Sean M. O’Brien. “Amazon has created a vast delivery network that drives down wages and erodes safety standards, undermining what should be good American jobs in the logistics industry. We must work together to hold Amazon accountable and take responsibility for its workers.”

The senators’ letter also points to the structure of Amazon’s DSP program as a means of allowing the company to avoid regulatory scrutiny. Due to the fragmented model of the program, which uses leased vans and other vehicles below 10,000 pounds, “it is nearly impossible to conduct oversight or regulatory efforts to analyze an understand the full universe of DSP operations.”

The letter proposed a dozen questions to Amazon with a Feb. 10 deadline to respond.

In response to the letter, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel denied the accusations.

“This letter is misinformed and inaccurate. The safety and health of our employees, partners, and communities is our top priority, and since launching the Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program in 2018, we’ve invested more than $8 billion in state-of-the-art technologies, safety training, rates, programs and services for DSPs and their drivers,” she said. “Amazon-branded vans are equipped with the latest safety features that have reduced accident rates by nearly 40 percent. Injury rates for drivers employed by DSPs are 10 percent better than industry average, according to OSHA’s annual incident rates, and, in 2022, drivers from DSPs reported an incident rate of 8.9 against an industry average of 9.8. Contrary to false claims in the letter, all of these vehicles have air conditioning as a standard feature and routes are designed to allow for ample breaks. DSPs are small business owners and entrepreneurs who are creating good jobs, with great pay and benefits, for more than 275,000 drivers around the world. We strongly dispute the claims in the letter and look forward to sharing the facts.”

In addition to Murphy, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Maizie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) Tina Smith (D-Minn.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also signed the letter.