# Some of Amazon's drivers are suing the company for the same reason Uber gets so much heat



## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

*Some of Amazon's drivers are suing the company for the same reason Uber gets so much heat*
*By Dan Levine 
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-amazon-prime-now-drivers-sue-for-unpaid-overtime-2015-10*


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## merkurfan (Jul 20, 2015)

So amazon hired a courier company who hired the drivers. but the drivers are suing amazon??

Only in CA does that logic work.


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

This is likely why Flex is launching, hehe.


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## berserk42 (Apr 24, 2015)

andaas said:


> This is likely why Flex is launching, hehe.


Flex drivers/couriers deliver Prime Now orders. Why they have two different names?! Bezos knows and no one else.


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## andaas (May 19, 2015)

It's not that complicated.

They contract out with local courier companies when they launch Prime Now in a market. This is to ensure Prime Now is successful in any specific market without going through the steps to build a Flex driver force. Higher overhead, but it makes sure that the launch can happen smoothly.

Once a Prime Now market is proven, then they will launch Flex and will slowly replace the contract courier drivers with Flex drivers. They will always likely maintain some level of contract service with local courier companies to make up for any service gaps.


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## merkurfan (Jul 20, 2015)

who ever is doing the deliveries in Minneapolis sure is quiet about it. Once I have a need, I'll order something and see who shows up. I would have to go to my parents house as I live outside the delivery area.


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## berserk42 (Apr 24, 2015)

andaas said:


> It's not that complicated.
> 
> They contract out with local courier companies when they launch Prime Now in a market. This is to ensure Prime Now is successful in any specific market without going through the steps to build a Flex driver force. Higher overhead, but it makes sure that the launch can happen smoothly.
> 
> Once a Prime Now market is proven, then they will launch Flex and will slowly replace the contract courier drivers with Flex drivers. They will always likely maintain some level of contract service with local courier companies to make up for any service gaps.


Thanks, that's helpful. I now actually understand this. Lol


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

merkurfan said:


> So amazon hired a courier company who hired the drivers. but the drivers are suing amazon??
> 
> Only in CA does that logic work.


Actually, California paased a law last year making companies that use staffing/temp agencies equally liable for workers, as if they were the employer.


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

Here's another article on same subject,

http://m.ocregister.com/articles/drivers-689395-amazon-scoobeez.html


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## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

It was CA bill 1897, Brown signed it into law in 2014,

http://www.propublica.org/article/california-governor-signs-bill-to-protect-temp-workers


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## Uberx Vegas (Oct 27, 2015)

merkurfan said:


> So amazon hired a courier company who hired the drivers. but the drivers are suing amazon??
> 
> Only in CA does that logic work.


 Hahaha why should drivers sue slave knowing that they can get more money from the slave master( the amazon)? The drivers are slaves of courier and drivers and courier and drivers all are slaves of amazon.


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## Cynergie (Apr 10, 2017)

chi1cabby said:


> *Some of Amazon's drivers are suing the company for the same reason Uber gets so much heat*
> *By Dan Levine
> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-amazon-prime-now-drivers-sue-for-unpaid-overtime-2015-10*


This thread heading was pure click bait

Entered and expected to see "Uber drivers moonlighting as flex drivers sued for sexual harrassment by pax without legs"

Or

" Uber moonlighting flex drivers sue Amazon for FT employee benefits and FT employee status"

Instead I got the typical IC crying game over self entitlement of non existent employee benefits lmao

When will independent contractors realize their work status as ICs renders them company subcontractors and NOT regular employees?


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## soupergloo (Jul 24, 2015)

the problem is (at least here in SF) that Amazon assigns drivers deliveries outside of their scheduled block and then threatens to deactivate them if they don't complete the delivery, but with no intention of paying them for the extra time.

not to mention, Amazon is constantly telling us at our warehouse that we "HAVE" to take a 1-hour delivery over a route, or visa versa, which is walking a fine line between treating us like employees vs. independent contractors.

and don't even get me started on the dry ice they used to put in the blue bags ..


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## Cynergie (Apr 10, 2017)

O.O 
lol We're on different wavelengths.

I was referring to Amazon Flex and not Prime or Fresh. Where the lowliest medieval pesant makes more than the sub minimum wage you're getting with 2 deliveries per hour.

Flex is guaranteed $20 per hr for 3hr and 4 hr blocks. Pays far better than Prime


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

Cynergie said:


> Flex is guaranteed $20 per hr for 3hr and 4 hr blocks. Pays far better than Prime


No it doesn't. Prime drivers with tips can make up to 30 an hour.

I have done both and prime the lowest minimum I have been offered is 22. Lowest minimum with logistics is 18


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## Solo1 (Apr 18, 2017)

Shangsta said:


> No it doesn't. Prime drivers with tips can make up to 30 an hour.
> 
> I have done both and prime the lowest minimum I have been offered is 22. Lowest minimum with logistics is 18


So with you doing both ... Averaging, what's better in overall pay?


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

Solo1 said:


> So with you doing both ... Averaging, what's better in overall pay?


Prime pays better but I prefer the ease/less stress and driving of logistics


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

According to this Uber drivers are making an average of $2 to $3 per hour after expenses.


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## UberPasco (Oct 18, 2015)

getawaycar said:


> According to this Uber drivers are making an average of $2 to $3 per hour after expenses.


Oy Vey. Another newbie who doesn't read anything before they post, and then thinks they are adding something meaningful that nobody has ever seen before.


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

UberPasco said:


> Oy Vey. Another newbie who doesn't read anything before they post, and then thinks they are adding something meaningful that nobody has ever seen before.


I don't have time to read every one of the thousands of posts that was made before I got here. Unlike you I have a life.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

getawaycar said:


> According to this Uber drivers are making an average of $2 to $3 per hour after expenses.


Lots of flaws in that video. Yes uber can pay poorly but they overestimate the cost to operate a vehicle. People who drive to work everyday operate a vehicle they have expenses too.

Unless you are in a market paying 65 cents or 75 cents a mile you can make decent money on uber if you drive at the right times


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

Shangsta said:


> Lots of flaws in that video. Yes uber can pay poorly but they overestimate the cost to operate a vehicle. People who drive to work everyday operate a vehicle they have expenses too.
> 
> Unless you are in a market paying 65 cents or 75 cents a mile you can make decent money on uber if you drive at the right times


I haven't drive for Uber so I can't say if the video is true or not. The video doesn't account for places like NYC and San Francisco where the pay is supposed to be a lot better than average. One thing that turns me off about ridesharing and why I don't do it is you don't get paid to pick up the customer. I would imagine there's a lot of waiting around for a customer as well. That's a lot of time when you're not getting paid. Accounting for that I could see how the pay could be pretty low. On top of that Uber takes a huge cut of the fare. 25% is ridiculous. Even ebay takes only about 13% cut including Paypal charges when you sell something on ebay. I used to think that was a lot and it is, but Uber takes twice as much. That's not fair at all to the driver who is doing all the work and paying for his own gas, insurance, maintenance, taxes etc. That's just plain robbery. Anything over 15% is considered loansharking. Over 20% is BS.

Airbnb is great though they only take 2 to 3%.


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