Amazon drivers are poised to get a 7% pay rise after they started to think about unionizing

An Amazon driver uses a custom Rivian electric delivery vehicle.

Amazon is spending $2.1 billion on its delivery service network — including pay increases — following renewed unionization efforts among delivery workers.

The company said the investment in its Delivery Service Partner program will help increase drivers’ pay to a national average of nearly $22.00 per hour, a 7% increase from last year. However, the exact rate increase will depend on location.

In a Thursday blog post announcing the increase, Amazon said it was the largest investment in the program since it began in 2018. Amazon said its total investments in the program amounted to $12.3 billion over the last six years.

Out of the $2.1 billion investment, Amazon said it will allocate $660 million toward “rate card increases and bonuses.”

Based on Amazon’s 2023 annual revenue, it takes the company around 32 hours to make $2.1 billion.

The company said the money aimed to support Amazon’s delivery-service partners “in their efforts to recruit and retain high-performing teams.”

Amazon’s delivery drivers are hired by third-party courier companies known as Delivery Service Partners, or DSPs. Amazon has said it doesn’t dictate pay and can only decide what the minimum pay for drivers is.

In recent months, Amazon has faced renewed union efforts among its delivery workers and scrutiny from the National Labor Relations Board.

In two recent decisions, the NLRB determined that Amazon should be deemed a “joint employer” of employees at two subcontracted delivery companies. Drivers had been in disagreement with the company over whether Amazon bears any legal responsibility to its delivery drivers.

Amazon’s DSP drivers have previously told B-17 that working conditions are demanding and daunting. They have said they fear recrimination if they fall short of high targets.

One of the US’s largest labor unions, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, has been involved in several nationwide strikes of Amazon workers.

Representatives for Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from B-17, made outside normal working hours.