4 ms·

Amazon Drivers Are Just “Drivers Delivering for Amazon,” Amazon Says

12 points by isaacfrond 3y ago

prepend 3y ago
It seems like a valid point as if I read the original headline I would think that the drivers worked for Amazon just because I think “Amazon driver” means employee. If I heard “Microsoft programmer” I would think employee. Of the programmer worked for IBM and had been coding for Microsoft 10 years straight, I would think of them as an IBM employee, not Microsoft (because they are).
mrangle 3y ago
"Seems necessary" in order to attempt to decouple Amazon's brand from the experience of window shaking bass that pounds from the Amazon delivery trucks that park for up to five minutes at a time on my street. Union issue aside.
V__ 3y ago
> The DSPs [delivery service partners] are responsible for hiring and training drivers, dispatching routes, and maintaining vehicles, according to statements from Amazon previously provided to Motherboard. The actual delivery drivers, in turn, are employed by the DSP, though they work in Amazon facilities to deliver Amazon packages, and how they work, when, and how much they get paid is largely determined by terms Amazon sets with the DSP. I understood, that whether someone is a contractor or an employee depends on the amount of control the entities have, aka “right-to-control test”. Are there similar laws/tests which apply to companies? If the DSP only works for Amazon and Amazon basically controls everything, is it really an independent company?
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fedex-settlement-idUSKCN0Z229Q https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fedex-settlement-idUSKCN0... (FedEx to settle driver lawsuits in 20 states for $240 million) (2016) > In re FedEx Ground Package System Inc Employment Practices Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, No. 3:05-MD-00527
  - V__ 3y ago
    Is this comparable from a legal point of view, though? Those FedEx drivers were hired as contractors, while Amazon had a company as an intermediary.
NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
I'm picturing a man and his wife arguing over their son, "oh, he's only YOUR son when he does something wrong!" So these are drivers wearing Amazon vests, driving Amazon liveried vehicles, working in Amazon warehouses, but they're not Amazon employees, because they might turn uppity and unionize, or ask not to pee into a soda bottle. Got it.

12 points by isaacfrond 3y ago

It seems like a valid point as if I read the original headline I would think that the drivers worked for Amazon just because I think “Amazon driver” means employee. If I heard “Microsoft programmer” I would think employee. Of the programmer worked for IBM and had been coding for Microsoft 10 years straight, I would think of them as an IBM employee, not Microsoft (because they are).

mrangle 3y ago

"Seems necessary" in order to attempt to decouple Amazon's brand from the experience of window shaking bass that pounds from the Amazon delivery trucks that park for up to five minutes at a time on my street. Union issue aside.

V__ 3y ago

> The DSPs [delivery service partners] are responsible for hiring and training drivers, dispatching routes, and maintaining vehicles, according to statements from Amazon previously provided to Motherboard. The actual delivery drivers, in turn, are employed by the DSP, though they work in Amazon facilities to deliver Amazon packages, and how they work, when, and how much they get paid is largely determined by terms Amazon sets with the DSP. I understood, that whether someone is a contractor or an employee depends on the amount of control the entities have, aka “right-to-control test”. Are there similar laws/tests which apply to companies? If the DSP only works for Amazon and Amazon basically controls everything, is it really an independent company?

toomuchtodo 3y ago
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fedex-settlement-idUSKCN0Z229Q https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fedex-settlement-idUSKCN0... (FedEx to settle driver lawsuits in 20 states for $240 million) (2016) > In re FedEx Ground Package System Inc Employment Practices Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, No. 3:05-MD-00527
- V__ 3y ago
  Is this comparable from a legal point of view, though? Those FedEx drivers were hired as contractors, while Amazon had a company as an intermediary.

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago

I'm picturing a man and his wife arguing over their son, "oh, he's only YOUR son when he does something wrong!" So these are drivers wearing Amazon vests, driving Amazon liveried vehicles, working in Amazon warehouses, but they're not Amazon employees, because they might turn uppity and unionize, or ask not to pee into a soda bottle. Got it.