On the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 8, members of the Teamsters union led a picket line march outside of Amazon’s BWI5 warehouse in Baltimore. Dozens of other union workers and members of the Baltimore community joined the demonstration, which was an extension of the ongoing Unfair Labor Practice strike by unionized Amazon drivers and dispatchers at the DAX8 delivery station in Palmdale, CA. “In April, the 84 workers in Palmdale organized with the Teamsters, becoming the first union of Amazon drivers in the country,” the Teamsters stated in a press release. “As members of Local 396, they bargained a contract with Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner (DSP), Battle-Tested Strategies (BTS). Despite the absolute control it wields over BTS and workers’ terms and conditions of employment, Amazon refuses to recognize and honor the union contract. Instead, Amazon has engaged in dozens of unfair labor practices in violation of federal labor law, including terminating the entire unit of newly organized workers…. The Amazon drivers and dispatchers began their unfair labor practice strike on June 24. They have picketed over 20 Amazon warehouses around the country, including warehouses in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey.”
TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez was on the ground at the Amazon picket on Nov. 8 and spoke to: Deion Anthony Steppes, one of the striking Amazon drivers from Palmdale, CA, and a member of Teamsters Local 396; Cristina Duncan Evans, a Baltimore City educator and member of the Baltimore Teachers Union; Taylor Boren, an art teacher for Baltimore Public Schools and a member of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County; and Mike McGuire, a plumber and community member in Baltimore.
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song
Studio Production: Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production: Alina Nehlich
TRANSCRIPT
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Group:
Hey, hey, ho, ho, corporate greed has got to go. Hey, hey, ho, ho corporate greed has got to go. Hey, hey, ho, ho…
Maximillian Alvarez:
Welcome everyone to a special on the ground episode of Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles of the working class today brought to you in partnership with In These Times Magazine and the Real News Network. My name is Maximillian Alvarez and it is about 6:00 PM on Wednesday, November 8th. And I’m currently standing outside of Amazon’s BWI5 warehouse in Baltimore, where workers and organizers with the Teamsters are leading a picket about 20 feet from where I’m currently standing. You could probably hear some of the chants in the background. This picket is an extension of the unfair labor practice strike by unionized Amazon drivers and dispatchers at the DAX8 delivery station in Palmdale, California.
According to the Teamsters in a press release that we will link to in the show notes for this episode, “In April, the 84 workers in Palmdale organized with the Teamsters becoming the first union of Amazon drivers in the country. As members of Local 396, they bargained a contract with Amazon’s delivery service partner, Battle-Tested Strategies. Despite the absolute control it wields over BTS and workers’ terms and conditions of employment, Amazon refuses to recognize and honor the union contract. Instead, Amazon has engaged in dozens of unfair labor practices in violation of federal law, including terminating the entire unit of newly organized workers. The Amazon drivers and dispatchers began their unfair labor practice strike on June 24th of this year. They have picketed over 20 Amazon warehouses around the country, including warehouses in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey.”
So I am here for the Real News Network and Working People to talk to folks about the ongoing fight by Amazon workers to hold this international behemoth accountable for its rampant labor violations and its repeated attempts to thwart efforts by its own workers to exercise their right to organize.
Deion Anthony Steppes:
Yes. Hello, my Deion Anthony Steppes part of the local 396 Laborers Union and also a current but temporary worker for the Palmdale Amazon facility.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Oh yeah. Well man, thank you so much, Deion, standing here and talking with me. I wanted to ask if you could just describe to people listening to this where we are right now, what’s happening just 10 feet away from us right now.
Deion Anthony Steppes:
Currently we are in Baltimore and we are here as an extension for the Palmdale Local 396 and we’re trying to do a practice strike for the labor union. And what that entails is just showing Amazon that we as workers are fed up with the guidance that they try to give us and telling us that as we are temporary drivers, that we do not represent Amazon, even though that we wear their uniform, drive their trucks and we deliver their packages while conforming to Amazon safety without getting any of the benefits or respect that we feel like we deserve. Again, we are temporary workers wearing their uniforms, driving their trucks, but we somehow do not represent Amazon, which makes no sense.
Maximillian Alvarez:
No, it doesn’t make any sense. But I mean this is how so many of these businesses try to skirt labor laws through contractors, through temp agencies. I was a warehouse temp back in Southern California where you guys are just 10 years ago. I saw how the sausage was made, I was a product of it. And it fucking sucks, pardon my French. But yeah, I mean I think that this has been a sadly under-covered story. Of course, we all know about the historic Amazon Labor Union victory a year ago on Staten Island at the JFK8 Fulfillment Center. We know about the workers in Alabama in Bessemer where I was two years ago when they were in the midst of their own unionization campaign. So those two campaigns have gotten a lot of attention, but you guys successfully unionized as well earlier this year, and Amazon has also refused to recognize the union and has done even worse than that. So can we talk about that? Tell me more about your struggle, the story that was going on over there in Palmdale. I think a lot of folks need to hear about it.
Deion Anthony Steppes:
So what I’d like to tell you is that about six months ago, we as a company decided to join the Labor Union because we felt that we needed to have our voices heard in a way that Amazon should be able to listen to. We believe that all of us who work for Amazon deserve better pay and above all safety. A lot of us go in very unsafe conditions. We get attacked by dogs. We get hit by the elements such as rain, sleet, snow, but also heat. We have been in situations where we have had no AC in our vehicles, but at the same time, especially to work a 10-hour day, walking, running most of the time without being provided necessary water.
And there are some of us drivers, and most people have heard of the famous UPS story where someone died of dehydration in the heat, and Amazon treats us even worse. We are not given what we feel is necessary for our safety even though we are trying our best to uphold the safety guidelines that they give us. So the unfair treatment, the low pay is not where we need it to be. And also because of that, the turnaround rate for Amazon is huge. It’s 150%. Nobody lasts because nobody can deal with the unfair conditions and even though Amazon is making a profit off of us, we’re not giving the respect we deserve. We’re not even considered actual Amazon employees, we are a third party.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Right, so you guys technically drive for Battle-Tested Strategies.
Deion Anthony Steppes:
Exactly, sir.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Right, but you effectively work for Amazon, you’re not making deliveries for another company.
Deion Anthony Steppes:
See, this is how I look at it. If you’re wearing their uniform, if you are driving their truck, if you are obligated to watch their safety videos and follow Amazon guidelines, if you’re talking to customers and telling them, “Hey, we as Amazon representatives are letting you know how this is,” we are delivering their packages, how are we not Amazon employees? It doesn’t make sense in my head. But for you, you try to go through this loophole, as Amazon, a billion-dollar corporation, and trying to screw us over for no apparent reason other than to fill your pockets, shorten ours, and know that, “Hey, there’s going to be another one of you, and we can hire.” So how are we supposed to feed our families? How are we supposed to take care of those that we love? You’re feeding your pockets, we can’t feed our families.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Man, that is so powerfully put. And again, it resonates because I was told that every Goddamn day when I was a temp warehouse worker in the city of industry. I was told how lucky I should consider myself to have that job. How many guys there worried every day waiting to take that job if fucked up. How I shouldn’t complain, and all that stuff. They just do this all the time. And I mean, we’re literally about five feet away from a giant inflatable fat cat and that feels pretty on the nose from what [inaudible 00:08:47]-
Deion Anthony Steppes:
Oh, that’s just Bezos. I mean, I don’t know if you can [inaudible 00:08:47].
Maximillian Alvarez:
Oh, I thought that was Jeff himself.
Deion Anthony Steppes:
Exactly.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Well, I wanted to ask about that too, because I know I can’t keep here for much longer, but could you just talk about from your side, what does that work look like?? And why did that translate to you guys feeling like you needed a union?
Deion Anthony Steppes:
Our typical day starts as we collect our packages in the facility and then we are given an allotted amount of time to deliver said packages. And during that allotted time, we have to follow, of course basic driving regulations such as vehicle compliance, but also no speeding, no braking, no hitting nobody. But of course we understand those as being the law, but what we don’t understand is having to rush through orders because, as you know, Amazon tries its best to deliver as fast as possible, but that’s not Amazon the company, that is US people killing ourselves trying to get you your packages as fast as possible. We understand that is our job and we understand that you deserve to have your packages, but at the same time, we are killing ourselves. We are running in rain, sleet, snow. We are getting attacked by dogs.
I personally was held at gunpoint because of a situation where I was trying my best to deliver a package in a very rural area, but unfortunately I was seen as an intruder. I am a six-foot four Black man, and I was held at gunpoint saying, “What was I doing on their property?” I was scared for my life.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Jesus man, Jesus. I’m so sorry that happened.
Deion Anthony Steppes:
I have to say, it’s part of the job. And because of that, I luckily was wearing my Amazon uniform, which I’m required to wear, and I was able to get away from that situation. I was able to go back to my vehicle and just say, “This is your package. I’m here delivering. I am not trying to intrude. I’m just trying to do my job, and I know you’re just trying to protect your family.” When I was able to go back, when I was let go from that situation, I think I stood in my vehicle, just panicked, my heart racing, knowing that I could have died in that situation. And again, I have to say that is part of the job.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Jesus, man, I’m horrified by that. And for Amazon to turn around and say, “We’re not going to recognize you and your coworkers for unionizing and trying to improve our working conditions and have better protections for ourselves in these and other cases, it’s just despicable. And again, this story itself is despicable because you guys unionized back in April and tell me what happened then. Tell me what led to this ongoing strike and how it’s developed over the past few months and then we’ll wrap it up.
Deion Anthony Steppes:
We of the BTS organized to be able to have our voices heard, as I said before. And during that time, we just pretty much decided as a group that, “Hey, we need to get our voices heard. We need to be able to tell others of our story.” And we’re able to… You know what, Amazon would listen to us if we have a powerful voice, which was the teamsters, and they decided, “You know what? We’re just going to end your contract,” just right then and there. And that’s when we decided, you know what? We need to strike. We need to stand up. This isn’t just for us, this is for everyone who represents Amazon, everybody who feels this is unfair. And just like as we are in Baltimore right now, there are so many other facilities who are trying their best to strike and get their voices heard.
Maximillian Alvarez:
And you guys have… I mean, you’re here in Baltimore, you work in California, so this is like an extension of that strike from coast to coast. And you guys have been going to other parts of the country as well, right?
Deion Anthony Steppes:
Yes, we have been everywhere from the UK to other parts of the States. I have personally been to Vegas and a lot of my coworkers have been to New York and every such area, just doing our best to extend this picket line, to extend this striking force for the unfair labor practices that Amazon gives to us. So as legally as possible, I would like to say I do not hate Amazon. I respect what they’re trying to do, give packages to the common folk, but we as common workers deserve to be treated as human beings. We deserve safety. We deserve fair pay. We deserve not to be replaced by robots in the warehouse facility. We deserve to have job security. And like I said before, you’re feeding your pockets, but we can’t feed our families.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Hell yeah. And Deion, last question, for folks out there listening, what can they do to show support for you and your coworkers and what can they do to show support for all Amazon workers who are trying to exercise their right to organize in the country right now?
Deion Anthony Steppes:
Support the Teamsters Union. Go to your local Amazon, file a complaint, say, “Please help your workers. Please support your drivers. Please support the warehouse workers.” All of us are just trying to do our best to again feed our families and we do our best for you, so please do your best for us.
Male:
No justice.
Group:
No peace.
Male:
No justice.
Group:
No peace.
Male:
No justice.
Group:
No peace.
Male:
No justice.
Group:
No peace.
Male:
No justice.
Group:
No peace.
Male:
No justice.
Cristina Duncan Evans:
My name’s Cristina Duncan Evans. I’m with the Baltimore Teachers Union and we’re here on the picket lines with the teamsters fighting against Amazon for higher wages, and we’re fighting against retaliation and the unfair labor practices.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Hell yeah. Well, Cristina, thank you so much for standing here on the corner outside of this massive Amazon fulfillment center here in Baltimore. I thought it was really, really cool to see you and so many other folks from the community marching with the teamsters right now protesting Amazon’s unfair labor practices, its refusal to recognize the unionized teamsters in California, firing the entire unit, to say nothing of its refusal to bargain a contract with the Amazon Labor Union and its labor violations across the board. I just wanted to ask, why as a Baltimore teacher, it was important for you to come out here and be part of this demonstration?
Group:
[inaudible 00:15:34].
Male:
[inaudible 00:15:34].
Group:
[inaudible 00:15:34].
Male:
[inaudible 00:15:34].
Cristina Duncan Evans:
Well, it’s so important because teachers are workers, teachers are members of the union. We know what it’s like to have a boss that takes advantage of you, a boss that retaliates and so we just really wanted to stand with the Amazon workers who are striking. We have family members who work for Amazon, we have students families who work for Amazon, I have former students who work for Amazon and so when I hear that Amazon is doing what they’re doing in terms of how they’re treating their workers, of course we want to support the workers and fight back against this unfair treatment.
Maximillian Alvarez:
I was wondering if you could say a little more about that, because that’s a side of the story that people don’t ever talk about much. But I mean, I see this with my own foster daughter and knowing how many of these young high school students, especially those who are in precarious economic positions, I mean, this is where a lot of them are going to come work. And so how do you deal with that as a teacher when you’re already dealing with, so… I mean, we could talk for days about Baltimore schools, and please tell us how things are going there, but I guess just as a teacher, how do you navigate that knowing that places like Amazon are the future for so many of our young people?
Group:
[inaudible 00:16:47].
Cristina Duncan Evans:
It’s really disheartening and honestly somewhat scary. It really started picking up during the pandemic where Amazon was hiring in massive numbers and seeing students, seeing some of my former students who were going to work for Amazon, hearing back from them about the unfair working conditions, the expectations that they were held to and just rules that really made it hard for them to get stability. The distribution plant is in the middle of nowhere, people can’t get transportation to it. I have students who are working at this place and other distribution plants that are outside the city center, they are spending so much of their wages just to get here to work.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Yeah, this is not an easy place to get to.
Cristina Duncan Evans:
It’s not.
Maximillian Alvarez:
It took me forever to get here.
Cristina Duncan Evans:
And you get trapped in this cycle where you are spending all of your money on childcare, you’re spending all of your money on transportation. Not to mention just the cost of living being so high, you’re working and working and working for nothing. And honestly, we want to educate our students for good jobs. We want their families to have good jobs. We want people to have stability in their lives, and Amazon just isn’t it.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Say it sister. I want to let you go now because we still got a picket line going, as folks can hear in the background, but I just wanted to ask how we can make sure that that street goes both ways. What are teachers in Baltimore going through right now and what can working people in the city and beyond do to support you all in this struggle for a better life for all of us?
Cristina Duncan Evans:
Well, one of the things we’re dealing with right now is that our school district just de-certified our career pathways. And without getting too much into the details of it, basically they’ve taken a huge amount of stability away from the teaching force in Baltimore, so we’re just asking people to pay attention to their educator, support educators because we want career educators. We want a career in the classroom. We want the stability from our employers so that we can focus on students. We don’t want to get a second job. We don’t want to get a summer job. We want to pour all of our energy into developing young people, and we want a system that’s stable enough so that we can do that. And right now, we’re not getting that. And that’s what we need support from the community for.
Male:
Union.
Group:
Strong.
Male:
Union.
Group:
Strong.
Male:
Union.
Group:
Strong.
Male:
Union.
Group:
Strong.
Male:
Union.
Group:
Strong.
Male:
Worker.
Group:
Power.
Male:
Worker.
Group:
Power.
Male:
Worker.
Group:
Power.
Male:
Worker.
Group:
Power.
Taylor Boren:
I’m Taylor Boren. I’m an art teacher for Baltimore County Public Schools and a member of TABCO, the Teachers Association of Baltimore County. I am here tonight because TABCO stands in support of our union brothers and sisters. We are in the midst of a contract campaign to compress our salary scale, to increase our career earnings, among other things, including our working conditions. It’s important that we stand in solidarity with fellow union members and those attempting to unionize.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Hell yeah. And I mean, I think it’s so important to see so many folks like yourself who aren’t with the teamsters, who don’t work with Amazon, but people who are out here literally 20 feet from where we’re standing, blocking traffic from getting into this massive Amazon facility. I mean, do you think that there’s something happening here in the city? Are more folks feeling encouraged to come out to events like this, or have you been part of these kinds of events in the past?
Taylor Boren:
I mean, I sure hope so. I feel like for me, that more so than staying home or reading a book, this is what self-care looks like, is showing up for fellow workers and standing in solidarity with those that need our support. I am excited about the growing labor movement across the country, and I hope it keeps growing stronger.
Maximillian Alvarez:
And can you just say a little more about TABCO for folks who are listening to this? Tell me a bit about your union, the folks in it and the contract negotiations that you mentioned earlier.
Taylor Boren:
Sure. So TABCO is the Teacher’s Association of Baltimore County. We represent all certificated employees in Baltimore County, so not just who you would typically think of as teachers, but also our nurses, school social workers, school psychologists, and more. We are in the midst of our contract campaign. While our contract says that it should be negotiated by November 30th, we have never actually negotiated within that deadline. So this is the first year we are pushing to really get our contract negotiated by November 30th. That way we have our contract negotiated before the Baltimore County budget is decided because if we negotiate a contract after the budget is passed, we’re limited in what we can negotiate.
Like I said, we’re working to compress our salary scale, meaning teachers get to their top earnings earlier in their career. We are negotiating to get more urgent business leave for teachers, which is personal leave, and we are trying to get pay for more of the things we do that are unpaid, like afterschool events, coverages, things like that. So we are continuing to wear Red for ED. We’re going to be wearing Red for ED on November 14th, the next bargaining session we have with Baltimore County. And we are hoping to get more TAs, Tentative Agreements on the table then.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Hell yeah. And can I just ask, what can folks around the city do to support you all and what can we all do as working people here in Baltimore to better support our fellow workers, whether they be here at Amazon or teaching in our schools?
Taylor Boren:
Awesome question. I would love to see fellow union members and community stakeholders wearing Red for ED with us on November 14th to support a strong contract for educators. Speaking at the board of Education is powerful. They have public comment slots. They meet two Tuesdays a month. You can show up and speak. Tell them that you support a fair contract for educators, tell them it matters to you. Right now we are also facing a lot of pushback from groups that support book Banning and who oppose BCPS’s current equity policies. So if you can show up and speak up for our students and our educators at board meetings, wear Red for ED on November 14th. Send your pictures to TABCO.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Hell yeah.
Taylor Boren:
I just wanted to add that it’s also important to me, especially as an educator in this community, that we show up for our students and their families, many of whom are employed here. So fighting for our workers here is a fight for our students and their families and better working conditions and living conditions for them.
Male:
What do we want?
Group:
Justice.
Male:
When do we want it?
Group:
Now.
Male:
What do we want?
Group:
Justice.
Male:
When do we want it?
Group:
Now.
Male:
What do we want?
Group:
Justice?
Male:
When do we want it?
Group:
Now.
Male:
If we don’t get it?
Group:
Shut it down.
Male:
If we don’t get it?
Group:
Shut it down.
Male:
If we don’t get it?
Group:
Shut it down.
Male:
If we don’t get it?
Group:
Shut it down.
Male:
If we don’t get it?
Group:
Shut it down.
Male:
If we don’t get it?
Group:
Shut it down.
Mike McGuire:
So I’m Mike McGuire. We’re on Holabird Avenue in Southeast Baltimore. And I’m a plumber here in town and also do labor and solidarity stuff, a former union member, a former union organizer.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Hell yeah. And yeah, we just concluded this picket out in front of the Amazon warehouse that we’re standing out in front of. You yourself were walking that picket line. I just wanted to ask if you could tell listeners a bit about what brought you out. I mean, you’re not a member of the Teamsters, you don’t work at Amazon, but why was it important for you to come out and support this?
Mike McGuire:
So I’m out here in solidarity with the teamsters that are organizing and one union’s in Amazon. But I’ll tell you what I was thinking about as I was walking the line was Jeff Bezos paying millions of dollars to get a bridge removed and reinstalled so that his mega yacht could make it out of port because they built it so big that it couldn’t fit under the bridge. And then I’m thinking about folks not being able to make it across the warehouse to go to bathroom breaks in the Amazon warehouses and the contrast is going to fucking kill us. This is an unsustainable… There are a lot of ways that we’re building an unsustainable world, and this is one of them. So in as much as I can contribute, I’m going to.
Maximillian Alvarez:
And what is your message, I guess, to other working folks around Baltimore about why they need to come to actions like this and what we can do as a working class in the city and beyond to better support one another in the fight to stop that horrible inequality that you just described.
Mike McGuire:
And the first thing is show up and the second thing is organize. A leader from UNITE HERE, the local here in Baltimore, she just retired. The line that she always gave was, “We already know what happens when we don’t organize, so let’s see what can happen when we do organize.”
And we’ve got multiple crises that we’re facing in Baltimore and the world. And Baltimore is a democratic town, and we have the entire spectrum of politics, gladly not so much as the MAGA right wing, but we’ve got conservatives and liberals within the Democratic Party in Baltimore. It’s a democratic town, we should be doing a lot more work. We should be doing a lot more organizing. City government should be doing a lot more experimentation around worker power, around… I mean, specifically something that they would have the power to catalyze more is worker cooperatives in terms of the model of development that we’re pursuing. But that’s about Baltimore. I mean, it only happens if there are people that are pushing to make it happen. Elections matter most for us if we show up for them. Protests matter, organization happens if we show up for it. The most important thing is show up and then organize, push for a better world.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Oh yeah. And Mike, I guess just a final note, what would you say to folks around the city and beyond who are listening to this about what they can do to get involved?
Mike McGuire:
So we, the popular classes in the United States, are so disorganized, you can do practically anything. You can join a garden club. You can join a union. The most important thing is to not be quiet and not stay at home.
Our enemy, and this is something… When we talk about elections in the United States, we talk about polarization between Left and Right, but the biggest difference is between those that aren’t paying attention and those that are paying attention. So our biggest enemy, I think, are folks that shut themselves down, don’t do anything, don’t pay attention. And even if you’re just going to a community garden and you’re building social networks with folks at a community garden or a book club at the library, you’re building those connections and as crises come up, you have people that you know, that you trust, that you know the strengths and weaknesses of, you can go out and do shit. You can hit the streets. You can organize like during COVID, mutual aid networks where you’re providing meals for folks that can’t get out and get their own meals. I say this all the time, but everything contributes. The enemy is staying at home and not doing nothing. (singing)
This post was originally published on The Real News Network.
