Last week, about 100 delivery workers at Amazon's DIL7 delivery station in Skokie, Illinois, went on strike demanding wage increases, a 40-hour work week and to protest the company's anti-union efforts. The delivery workers had recently joined Teamsters Local 705 and demanded that Amazon improve their working conditions.

Workers at the factory are paid about $20 an hour. The company intentionally makes them work fewer than 40 hours a week to avoid the benefits of full-time workers. The drivers at the DIL7 factory north of Chicago are among the poorest workers in the community.

On June 20, workers staged a march in the warehouse and presented their demands for wages, hours and union recognition to DIL7 management. In a video of the march, a worker told management that delivery drivers were paid “$30 an hour… guaranteed 40 hours [per week]… better performance … and we demand dignity.” He added: “We will not step down until we win this fight.”

Just days later, Amazon announced it would end its contract with Four Star Express Delivery, the drivers' official employer. Across the country, Amazon hires thousands of delivery services as contractors to divide its workforce and circumvent labor laws, all while controlling every aspect of working conditions.

In addition to low pay and grueling working hours, Amazon delivery workers are often subject to intense surveillance. Delivery truck locations are constantly tracked and drivers are monitored with in-vehicle cameras.