More than 500 Amazon drivers in Torrance, California, and Woodside, New York, organized with the Teamsters Union in October 2026, using a widely shared Instagram video to describe what they say the job costs them in pay, safety, and basic dignity.
Here's what to know
An Instagram post shared by Status Coup (@statuscoup), in collaboration with More Perfect Union, said drivers on both coasts joined the Teamsters to push for safer working conditions, wages they can live on, and fairer benefits. The reel moves between California and New York footage, using the drivers' own accounts instead of a narrator.
Throughout the reel, workers tie everyday financial pressure to the conditions they face on the job. One driver says, "I don't want to have to choose between food and gas."
Another says workers have been made to work in "some of the most inhospitable weather conditions without proper accommodations."
One Instagram commenter wrote, "I really hope that the Amazon CEO is listening because you all work really hard to ensure the packages are delivered on time! You all deserve everything you're asking for."
At the time of publication, the post had more than 66,000 likes and nearly 4,000 comments.
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More background
Pay is not the only grievance raised in the video. One driver says deliveries are being made in "decrepit filthy vehicles" that are "filled beyond reason or regard for safety," adding that there was "no heating" and "no air conditioning and no regard for my well-being."
The footage also includes complaints that drivers must do most of the setup work before routes even begin. "They don't even help us loading the vans," the driver says, later adding, "Like, we do everything here."
The video also includes a driver speaking Spanish who says workers don't always get adequate materials for the cold, including thermal clothing. Another participant says the equipment they receive can "fall apart." Those details depict workers delivering packages in heat, rain, snow, and cold with inadequate gear.
The convenience of rapid delivery depends on workers who say they're asked to accept unsafe vehicles, inadequate gear, and pay that doesn't comfortably cover necessities.
What's being done?
The post shows collective action as the workers' answer. Drivers in California and New York are organizing with the Teamsters and pushing for recognition, safer conditions, and a contract that would improve wages and benefits.
One speaker in the video puts that goal plainly: "We're here to organize a fair contract. We're a union now, so you got to recognize that."
Another says, "Things have to change, you know?"
The post also emphasizes solidarity across locations. As one participant says, "We need to, like, show our support for all the other drivers that have been going through a lot."
Moreover, workers frame the demand as parity rather than special treatment: "We just deserve equal pay, equal trust, equal, like, value. That's all we want."
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