Current:Home > StocksAmazon boosts pay for subcontracted delivery drivers amid union pressure -Capital Dream Guides
Amazon boosts pay for subcontracted delivery drivers amid union pressure
View
Date:2025-04-16 01:23:39
Amazon is giving another pay boost to its subcontracted delivery drivers in the U.S. amid growing union pressure.
Drivers who work with Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners, or DSPs, will earn an average of nearly $22 per hour, a 7% bump from the previous average of $20.50, the company said Thursday.
The increase in wages is part of a new $2.1 billion investment the online retailer is making in the delivery program. Amazon doesn’t directly employ drivers but relies on thousands of third-party businesses that deliver millions of customer packages every day.
The company also gave a pay bump to U.S. drivers last year. Last week, it also said it would increase wages for front-line workers in the United Kingdom by 9.8% or more.
Amazon said the DSP program has created 390,000 driving jobs since 2018 and its total investments of $12 billion since then will help with safety programs and provide incentives for participating businesses.
U.S. labor regulators are putting more scrutiny on Amazon’s business model, which has put a layer of separation between the company and the workers who drive its ubiquitous gray-blue vans.
The Teamsters and other labor groups have argued that Amazon exercises great control over the subcontracted workforce, including by determining their routes, setting delivery targets and monitoring their performances. They say the company should be classified as a joint employer under the eyes of the law, which Amazon has resisted.
However, labor regulators are increasingly siding against the company.
Last week, a National Labor Board prosecutor in Atlanta determined Amazon should be held jointly liable for allegedly making threats and other unlawful statements to DSP drivers seeking to unionize in the city. Meanwhile, NLRB prosecutors in Los Angeles determined last month that Amazon was a joint employer of subcontracted drivers who delivered packages for the company in California.
If a settlement is not reached in those cases, the agency could choose to bring a complaint against Amazon, which would be litigated within the NLRB’s administrative law system. Amazon has the option to appeal a judge’s order to the agency’s board and eventually, to a federal court.
veryGood! (45634)
Related
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
Ranking
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
Recommendation
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
Trump's 'stop
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
Average rate on 30