CNN
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Amazon delivery drivers are on strike across the United States. The strikers say that 400 packages, long working hours and little help are part of everyday work.

Amazon says the strike will have no impact on holiday deliveries, but the thousands of delivery drivers who went on strike hope it will have a positive impact on the giant company.

Thousands of delivery drivers walked off their jobs on Thursday, protesting not only for better working conditions and pay, but also for Amazon to recognize them as company employees.

Even though the company wears Amazon vests, drives Amazon vans and only delivers Amazon packages, it doesn’t consider many drivers to be its employees. Rather, Amazon views them as contract workers through independent third-party companies called “Delivery Service Partners.”

In a statement, Amazon said it was “incredibly proud of the DSP program.”

“We empowered 4,400 entrepreneurs to build and scale their businesses, which in turn created 390,000 driver jobs and generated $58 billion in revenue,” Nancy Kattel, an Amazon spokeswoman, said in a statement.

Tensions between Amazon and its delivery drivers escalated again this week as members of the Teamsters union continued Strike at Amazon facilities in New York, Illinois, Georgia and California. Drivers say they are underpaid and overworked.

Thomas Hickman, 34, a delivery driver for Amazon in Georgia, told CNN that workdays can be demanding and it often takes 12 hours to deliver hundreds of packages with limited breaks.

“The pay has to be better. Health insurance needs to get better,” Hickman said. “We need better working conditions. If we have more than 400 packages, we need someone to help us and give us a ride.”

The Teamsters claim to represent thousands of Amazon workers nationwide. That’s less than 1% the company’s U.S. workforce.

Amazon said in a statement that the Teamsters do not represent anyone on Amazon’s payroll.

“The Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public by claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers.’ “That is not the case and this is another attempt to spread a false narrative,” said Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokeswoman.

Hickman, who has been delivering packages for Amazon for four months, said he was excited about the job and wanted to work as a driver. But the excessive deliveries, emphasis on speed and lack of help took such a toll on him that he injured his ankle and leg while working.

“It was a wear and tear on my body,” Hickman said. “It was a wear and tear on every body.”

Samantha Thomas, an Amazon delivery driver for seven months, told CNN that she enjoys delivering packages and meeting people on her routes. Still, Amazon needs to do more to support its employees, she said.

“We want the company to care more about us so we can care more about the work we do and do better at the job,” Thomas said.

Ash’shura Brooks, 29, started working as a delivery driver at an Amazon warehouse in Skokie, Illinois, in October 2023.

Brooks, who has a 7-year-old son, said the job puts undue pressure on her to deliver packages quickly while also dealing with long hours and a lack of safety guardrails.

For example, she mentioned a day when she was sent on a delivery route despite freezing temperatures. Brooks said there is no leniency in the job, which adds to stress.

“Either you sacrifice your safety to do things faster, or you sacrifice your job to do things more safely,” she said.

Brooks said she hopes people who want to receive packages for Christmas and Hanukkah can empathize with the drivers’ demands – but most importantly, she hopes Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos listens to workers.

“It’s a shame that America as a society has gotten to the point of, ‘We put packages and profits over people,'” Brooks said.

“These are the same people who deliver your packages to your customers, and you care too much about profits to not listen to the people who work for you,” Brooks added. “And that has to change.”

The Teamsters union cites Amazon’s $2 trillion market value as evidence that the company has more than enough resources to support its workers. Amazon reported net income of $39.2 billion in the first nine months of this year, more than double the same period in 2023.

“The fact is they make trillions of dollars and they can’t pay us for the work we do,” Hickman said.

The debate over the employer-employee relationship has proven heated in recent years, with legal disputes over whether Amazon is considered the driver’s employer, responsible for better wages and benefits.

Trenton Knight, a delivery driver in Georgia who drove for Amazon for five months, told CNN that drivers feel neglected because their work-life balance is not respected. He said it’s difficult to get a shift, but once assigned, the route often takes all day. He said he was striking for better benefits and wages and for recognition of himself and his fellow drivers as Amazon workers.

“If we weren’t their workers, we wouldn’t be driving their trucks, we wouldn’t be wearing their clothes, we wouldn’t be delivering their packages,” Knight said.

CNN’s Jaide Timm-Garcia, Isabel Rosales and Chris Isidore contributed reporting.