NLRB says Amazon is a joint employer of some 3rd-party delivery drivers in California

The Teamsters union is celebrating after the National Labor Relations Board determined that Amazon is a joint employer of subcontracted drivers who delivered the company's packages out of Palmdale, Calif.

The determination, made Thursday by a regional NLRB director in Los Angeles, provides some clarity for the two sides. They have been in disagreement about whether Amazon bears any legal responsibility to its delivery drivers, who are technically employed by third-party companies but deliver Amazon packages.

It comes after a yearlong fight to improve pay and working conditions for drivers and dispatchers at a Palmdale facility.

“Amazon can no longer dodge responsibility for our low wages and dangerous working conditions, and it cannot continue to get away with committing unfair labor practices. We are Amazon workers and we are holding Amazon accountable,” said Jessie Moreno, an Amazon driver and Teamsters Local 396 member in Palmdale, in a Teamsters press release.

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In April 2023, dozens of drivers and dispatchers working for Amazon in Palmdale formed a union and successfully negotiated a contract with Amazon's delivery service partner, Battle-Tested Strategies (BTS). They were considered the first delivery workers for Amazon to unionize. Then, in June 2023, BTS stopped delivering for Amazon.

An Amazon spokesperson told the Associated Press that the termination was over unrelated contract breaches and that BTS was notified about the termination before workers unionized, but many workers and labor advocates still accused Amazon of retaliation and union busting.

On Thursday, the regional NLRB determined that Amazon had engaged in multiple unfair labor practices at the Palmdale facility, including that Amazon and BTS "unlawfully failed and refused to bargain with the union over effects of the decision to terminate the BTS contract." The office also found that Amazon made unlawful threats and failed to provide relevant information to the union.

But the NLRB office said it did not find merit to all allegations against Amazon, including the claim that the company's decision to end its contract with BTS was a retaliatory move, according to AP.

On Saturday, Eileen Hards, an Amazon spokesperson, said in an email, "As we have said all along, there is no merit to the Teamsters’ claims. If and when the agency decides it wants to litigate the remaining allegations, we expect they will be dismissed as well."

The NLRB's merit determination is not a board decision or ruling, but the first step in the NLRB's general counsel to litigate the allegations after investigating an unfair labor practice charge. If the two parties fail to settle, the NLRB regional director will issue a complaint and a hearing will be scheduled with a NLRB judge.

While the NLRB findings only apply to Palmdale workers and in regard to their union efforts, the Teamsters are hoping the decision will set the stage for Amazon delivery drivers across the country to unionize in the future.

“Amazon drivers have taken their future into their own hands and won a monumental determination that makes clear Amazon has a legal obligation to bargain with its drivers over their working conditions,” said Teamsters President Sean O’Brien. “This strike has paved the way for every other Amazon worker in the country to demand what they deserve and to get Amazon to the bargaining table."

Editor's note: Amazon is among NPR's recent financial supporters.

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