Abstract
For nearly a century, driving delivery trucks has been a pathway to the middle class, as epitomized by unionized jobs at UPS. UPS drivers, who have been members of the Teamsters union for decades, are employees with legal protections and a collective-bargaining contract. In contrast, Amazon has embraced a very different model. Most important is that Amazon does not directly employ nearly any of its delivery drivers. These practices place downward pressure on the wages and working conditions of drivers throughout the industry. The impact on workers is stark. Delivery workers at Amazon receive significantly lower wages than at UPS and FedEx, we found. Wage gaps are especially large between the delivery workers at Amazon, who earn US$19 an hour on average, and the unionized drivers at UPS, who make $35. The differences continue on every aspect of job quality and work stability.