Drivers unionize at second Queens Amazon warehouse
/
Drivers at a second Amazon warehouse in Queens unionized over poor working conditions and called for a new contract on Tuesday. It comes a year after workers at another Queens Amazon warehouse carried out a strike over similar issues. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
More than 200 drivers at an Amazon warehouse in Queens announced they were unionizing on Tuesday morning, the second set of drivers to do so in the borough in the last year.
Drivers at the DBK1 facility in Woodside announced they would be joining the Teamsters on Tuesday, following in the footsteps of the DBK4 warehouse in Maspeth, which unionized last year.
The workers are all drivers for third-party “Delivery Service Partners,” who deliver packages from Amazon’s facilities, wear Amazon uniforms and often drive trucks with the company’s logo, but are not given many of the same benefits and protections as full-time Amazon workers.
The arrangement, drivers say, allows Amazon to distance itself from the workers, and often makes it harder for them to report bad working conditions.
Newly unionized drivers say they are fighting for better pay and increased safety standards, including more manageable routes and package quotas, which Amazon controls through the DSPs.
Last year, drivers at DBK4 unionized, and briefly held a strike over their own contract negotiations.
“Seeing hundreds of New York City Amazon workers strike last year was a wakeup call for us,” said José Huerta, a driver at the DBK1 facility. “If we want a better future at Amazon, we have to be willing to fight for it.”
“We are ready to bring the fight directly to Amazon to get the respect and dignity we deserve,” Huerta added.
Christian Trimboli, a born-and-raised Fresh Meadows resident, said he found out he had been fired as a DSP driver at DBK1 on Thanksgiving without a reason. His former coworkers believe it happened because he was speaking out about poor working conditions, Trimboli claimed.
“They believe that I was fired for speaking up on the job, for wanting to address that things need change here, that we deserve better,” Trimboli told the Eagle.
A Teamsters spokesperson said they intend to bring a legal case over Trimboli’s firing.
Trimboli continued working with unionizing workers even after being terminated.
“Every single day I was talking to my co-workers about some of the struggles that Amazon was putting them through, personal things that they were dealing with,” he said. “We all have our own story.”
The driver said that he felt that discipline and punishment from Amazon was “a little bit harsh," and that workers were discouraged to bring up concerns. When issues were brought up, they were not taken seriously by management, he said.
“There have been times where I was discouraged from reporting issues with the van, safety issues,” he said.
Teamsters, already one of the largest unions in the nation, is welcoming the new batch of Amazon drivers.
“Amazon already has some of the worst working conditions in the country, but workers go through hell in order to deliver the holidays to millions of Americans,” said Randy Korgan, director of the Teamsters Amazon division. “Every day, Amazon workers across the country are exercising their power by joining the Teamsters. Our new members at DBK1 will be crucial voices as we continue this fight nationwide.”
In a statement, Amazon said the conglomerate does not recognize the drivers as their employees, and that they have not received anything formal from the National Labor Relations Board on the unionizing as of Tuesday afternoon.
"For over two years, the Teamsters have deliberately misled the public by claiming that employees of independently owned delivery businesses are Amazon employees,” said Eileen Hards, an Amazon spokesperson. “The truth is, the employees of these Delivery Service Partners aren’t employed by Amazon, and today’s press release is just another repeat of their false claims."
DBK1, which is in Woodside just off the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, falls within City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán’s district.
“Congratulations to the Teamsters and over 200 workers for their heroic efforts unionizing Amazon’s DBK1 facility in my district,” said Cabán.
The progressive Astoria representative is also the lead sponsor of the Delivery Protection Act, which would ban Amazon and other companies from using the third-party DPS delivery drivers.
“As the proud lead sponsor of the Delivery Protection Act, I organize in solidarity with Amazon delivery drivers and warehouse workers as they fight for safe workplaces and safe streets,” said the councilmember. “I call on Amazon to respect the organizing rights of their workers and to engage respectfully and in good faith with the union.”
While the bill pertains to all DSPs in the city, Amazon is the “best and biggest example,” according to the Astoria lawmaker.
The bill currently has a super-majority of support within the Council, but has not been given a hearing nor come for a vote.
The Teamsters called on outgoing Speaker Adrienne Adams to hold a hearing on the bill before the Council’s last meeting of 2025 later this month.
A Council spokesperson said that there are “dozens of bills under consideration for the final week of the legislative session,” and that movement of the Delivery Protection Act is not guaranteed.
"Workers who are employed by last-mile companies and facilities play an important role in our economy, and they deserve greater safety and protections,” said the spokesperson. “Every bill must go through the Council’s legislative process, which is deliberative and allows for thorough public engagement, input, and negotiation.”
For Trimboli, the path forward is not entirely clear.
“[Getting fired] devastated me, because honestly, I did enjoy my job,” he said. “I like exploring Queens, I've developed genuine love and appreciation for every single neighborhood in Queens. I enjoyed bringing smiles to customers.”
For now though, he told the Eagle he intends to continue fighting for a contract for his former coworkers.
“I don't really know what direction I'm supposed to take, and I think fighting for my co-workers gave me a purpose, some sense of calling, and now that might be a path I can now take,” he said.
