Recent incidents, including carjacking, robbery and assault while doing deliveries and dog bites during their routes, further demonstrates that Amazon has failed to protect Flex drivers.

(Woodland Park, NJ) - Today, dozens of New Jersey Amazon Flex Drivers held a rally at the Amazon delivery station in Woodland Park in response to Amazon’s pay cuts, and its disregard of safety for Flex drivers working in New Jersey. Flex drivers deliver Amazon packages to customers in their own vehicles, pay for their own gas and insurance and don’t receive health insurance. They are an essential part of Amazon’s multi-billion dollar last mile delivery empire.

During the rally, Flex drivers demanded Amazon publicly commit to set reasonable delivery quotas that prioritize the safety of both customers and drivers and increase base pay to account for the length of routes and the number of stops they are required to take. Recently, Flex drivers in New Jersey launched a petition drive with 300+ signatures to urge the company to publicly commit to raising standards. Make the Road New Jersey stands in support of Flex Drivers, who are organizing themselves to demand better pay and safe conditions – and is echoing the drivers’ call for Amazon to take responsibility for creating good jobs throughout their delivery network.

Watch the livestream here and social media posts here.

“Amazon wants us to “deliver smiles” to customers, but it’s hard to feel like smiling when we’re constantly at risk. In the last 5 years, at least five Flex drivers have been shot while delivering packages. I shouldn’t have to worry that I’ll be next. No other company puts both drivers and customers in danger by delivering in the middle of the night,” said Evelyn, a Flex Driver of two years who works at the Amazon Woodland Park delivery station. “I never thought I’d get rich driving Flex, but not being paid fairly means I can’t pay my car payments and insurance. I need my car in order to work. Amazon knows it’s not paying close to a living wage, trapping us in a cycle of suffering. Decision-makers at Amazon must have some common sense and eliminate middle-of-the-night deliveries now. It’s time Amazon take real measures to protect customers and Flex Drivers.”

“If my car – the same one I use to take my children to school – breaks down while I’m working, Amazon doesn’t pay for the repairs. If a dog bites me while I’m delivering a package, Amazon does not offer me medical insurance and I have to pay out of pocket. It is not fair that I have to decide if I have enough to pay rent or food this month because Amazon, the largest and wealthiest company in the world, can’t provide a livable wage and safety conditions to its drive,” said Belkis, a Flex Driver for more than two years at the Amazon Woodland Park delivery station.

“I make a living doing Flex, because I saw Flex as one of the few options I had left. As a single mother with a son with disabilities, having a flexible schedule and earning between $18 to $25 an hour seemed like an excellent option. But now, with the downgrades at the job, I have been spending my free time looking for blocks and paying all kinds of out-of-pocket expenses just to work. My car payments and paying for my utilities have also been affected by Amazon changes in the flex program,” said Ester, a Flex Driver for more than one year at the Amazon Woodland Park delivery station. “Delivery quotas have also changed. The same amount of packages that I would deliver in five hours, now I have to do it in three hours. We rush because if we don’t deliver all packages on time, we get punished and our accounts get blocked losing our only source of income. Amazon makes billions on the backs of Flex drivers. It is time Amazon provide safety and a livable wage to all flex drivers.”

Despite Amazon’s commitment to make the company the “Earth’s safest Place to Work,” there is a worker safety crisis at Amazon. Reports shows the serious injury rate at Amazon warehouses in 2021 was more than twice as high as the rate at non-Amazon warehouses across the country. Amazon has been charged by the NLRB for violating labor law, cited for OSHA violations at six warehouses, and is under investigation by the Department of Justice about misreporting injury data. Members of Congress have the responsibility to pass laws, like legislators in California and New York did, to prevent ongoing injuries and deaths.

Flex drivers, an often forgotten but critical part of Amazon’s last mile delivery network, have been shot and held at gunpoint, had their vehicle stolen while delivering a package, and endured dog bites during their routes. And many workers have reported they have avoided medical care due to the high potential cost of bills, and the pressure to continue working.

Amazon cannot be trusted to keep workers safe, and it cannot be trusted to report its own injury data. OSHA has cited the corporation multiple times for under- and otherwise mis-reporting its injury data. And, a recent study from the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) suggests that injury rates are far higher than previously understood. Alarmingly, researchers from UIC found that nearly half of Amazon workers report being injured on the job.

Amazon’s model is a threat to workers everywhere. As the second largest private employer in the country, Amazon and its labor practices have an outsized impact on our economy, setting precedent in the retail, warehousing, and logistics sectors.