Amazon Flex drivers and other gig economy drivers have staged a protest outside an Amazon warehouse calling for an increase in pay to deal with surging gas prices during the unprecedented inflation under President Joe Biden.
CNBC reports that delivery drivers are pressuring Amazon to pay its Flex program drivers more in order to accommodate currently surging gas prices. Approximately 50 delivery and rideshare drivers protested outside an Amazon warehouse near Los Angeles earlier this week.
An employee carries a package at the distribution center of US online retail giant Amazon in Moenchengladbach, on December 17, 2019.(INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)
Jeff Bezos at Blue Origin press event ( Joe Raedle /Getty)
Amazon Flex drivers do not drive Amazon delivery vehicles, but rather use their personal vehicles to deliver packages. As a result, they must pay for their own gas and with prices spiking during the Biden administration, many are claiming they can no longer afford to work for the e-commerce giant. The national average price for gas reached $4.27 as of Thursday according to American Automobile Association Gas Prices.
A Flex driver named Kerry Selfridge told CNBC: “My car used to fill up on $25, now it’s closer to $40. I’m spending $280 a week, and lucky to make $500 to $700 during that same period.”
The protest was organized by Mobile Workers Alliance, a group describing itself as representatives of gig-economy workers. The MWA tweeted: “We rideshare drivers are so proud to have joined Amazon Flex delivery workers yesterday to call for higher pay rates during this massive surge in gas prices.”
In an attempt to offset surging gas prices, other companies like Uber and Lyft have added extra charges for customers, but many Uber drivers have stated that the added surcharge is not enough to cover the higher cost of fuel.
An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that the e-commerce giant is “closely monitoring the situation,” stating: “We’ve already made several adjustments through pricing surges in impacted areas to help ease some of the financial challenges. As the situation evolves, we’ll continue to make changes where we can to help support our partners.”
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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