| Courage California has been working to stop Amazon's abuses for years, and we are standing behind the Amazon drivers in their fight in Palmdale. The email below is from one of the drivers, a mom named Cecilia. Dear Friend, When I took a job as a contract Amazon driver in Palmdale, California, I thought I would have the opportunity to build a better future for my family. Instead, I found myself trying to make more than 160 deliveries a day in sweltering heat, with no breaks, inside a van that often has no air conditioning and reaches 135 degrees. And when we asked for water, regular breaks, and a living wage, Amazon threatened to cancel our contract for “poor performance." That’s why 83 of my fellow delivery drivers and I are going on strike -- we are simply demanding dignity and safe conditions from one of the richest companies in the world. But while we strike, we go without pay, which is why the Working Families Party has generously set up a fund to support us and our families, who rely on our incomes while we fight. When you order a package from Amazon, two days later an Amazon truck pulls up to your driveway. A driver wearing an Amazon hat and an Amazon shirt jumps out to run your Amazon-stamped box right up to your front door. But did you know that driver doesn’t technically work for Amazon? In order to line its pockets, Amazon outsources its deliveries to more than 2,500 companies across the country so that the multibillion-dollar corporation doesn’t have to pay for benefits, sick leave, or fair hourly wages. But even though the drivers are contracted, it’s a technicality -- the corporation still determines what hours are worked, how many packages to deliver, what vans to drive, and basically every other working condition the drivers have.(1) Amazon uses its monopoly hold on the industry to squeeze delivery companies more and more, and the drivers pay the price. We have to drive Amazon vans, which the corporation refuses to keep in good repair. We make less than $20 an hour in one of the most expensive areas of the state, and as we get no benefits, we have to pay out of pocket for services like my own son’s therapy. I can’t make ends meet no matter how many hours I work. Worse, because Amazon keeps raising the required number of packages to deliver, I’ve given up all of my breaks and navigate dangerous driving conditions to meet my quota. I constantly worry I’ll have an accident from being overtired. And Amazon even rationed the number of water bottles they provide us! I know that you rely on Amazon to deliver packages on time, and I want to be able to safely provide that service to you. I also want to be able to provide a living for my family. These should be basic requirements of any company, never mind one with profits in the hundreds of billions, like Amazon. We need to keep this strike going until Amazon changes its practices -- but we can't sustain a strike without your help. Please help me and my fellow Amazon drivers keep up our fight. 100% of your donation will go to the Amazon Driver Worker Solidarity Fund. Thanks for your critical support. –Cecilia
Footnote:  |
||