Workers at Amazon’s San Bernardino air hub are getting $100,000 in back pay after calling out the company for not giving them required breaks during shifts, according to a labor union.
The Teamsters, which announced last year it represents more than 1,000 employees at the facility known as KSBD, say the money is a victory for blue-collar workers seeking better treatment from the online mega-retailer.
“Through the law, direct action, organizing, and every other resource we have at our disposal, Amazon Teamsters are taking on this greedy corporation and securing one win after another,” Randy Korgan, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 1932, said via email.
These victories, according to Teamsters, include Amazon drivers in the City of Industry voting to join the Teamsters and drivers in Victorville marching on their boss and receiving coats.
Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, said via email that for more than two years, “the Teamsters have pushed a false narrative and continued to intentionally mislead the public and these claims are just the most recent examples.”
“The truth is, the Teamsters have never been chosen in an (National Labor Relations Board) election to represent any of our employees or delivery partners, and the NLRB has never ordered Amazon to bargain with the Teamsters,” Nantel said.
The Teamsters have tried organizing Amazon workers throughout the United States and Canada. The union has an Amazon division and Teamsters officials say they’re helping workers fight for fair pay, better benefits and safe working conditions.
The Teamsters “played no role in the payments made to a relatively small number of employees at KSBD,” Nantel said, coats and similar equipment “are standard issue” for drivers.
Nantel said Amazon is “implementing new processes and piloting a new time clock functionality that helps ensure employees working more than 10 hours — which is rare — are able to take all the rest breaks available to them.”
Bordering San Bernardino International Airport, the 660,000-square-foot air hub operates almost 24 hours a day, processing customers’ orders through a sophisticated system involving robots, smart conveyor belts, trucks and cargo planes.
Last December, the Teamsters announced air hub workers had unionized. Also that month, workers at the air hub and three other Southern California Amazon facilities temporarily went on strike demanding the company recognize their union and start contract talks.
Before that, air hub workers accused Amazon of not giving them legally required rest breaks after working for at least 10 hours. Because of that, Amazon owed workers back pay, they argued.
Sean Lopez, a San Bernardino resident who works at the air hub, said he and his co-workers were never told they were entitled to a break after 10 hours. He said workers pressured Amazon to pay them back money and had to look at past schedules to determine what they were owed.
“It was a little tedious because I’ve been there since the building opened” in 2021, Lopez said. “I had to go back and look at all my hours … Then I started hearing people getting paid out.”
Lopez said he’s getting about $8,700 in back pay. The Teamsters did not have figures for how many workers are benefitting from the $100,000 Amazon is paying out.
“It was wrong for Amazon to withhold that money and basically kind of keep it a secret from us,” he said. “I’m relieved that we were able to come together and give them enough pressure (to pay us).”
He said Amazon continues to not recognize the air hub workers’ union. “But we persist to put pressure (on them) and let them know we are here.”
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