It’s just after the new year when Jonathon Ervin began to feel that Amazon was turning its back on him. Ervin owns one of only 3,500 small businesses that exist solely to deliver packages to the retail giant. Since founding his company, Battle Tested Strategies, in 2019, Air Force veterans and reservists have delivered more than 10 million packages and received positive performance reviews from Amazon. In a 2020 newsletter, Amazon named Ervin the face of its commitment to Black business owners.
Last year, after a sweltering summer, high volume of packages, and malfunctioning air conditioning, BTS’ drivers began organizing an alliance with Teamsters. He recognized the union — against Amazon’s wishes, according to Ervin — and negotiated a contract that went into effect in April, making his employees the first Amazon drivers in the US to ratify it. contract with the union.
The cars rented by BTS are checked by Amazon for traffic before each shift. After the peak of this year’s winter break, known as the “peak”, subsided, Ervin began to feel these checks had turned into a hunt for reasons to keep his vehicle at bay. outside. No violation seems so small. A cracked taillight, an improperly mounted phone, a seat belt that retracts too slowly – never a problem before, now suddenly becoming excuses to tie up vans Yours must stop working. Now, Amazon is trying to cut Ervin’s contract near the end of this month, which will put him out of business and 84 of his drivers will lose their jobs.
“We passed the peak in January and boomed. All of these breaches of contract pile up,” Ervin said, adding, “Breaches are created from fairy dust and are punished.”
Amazon spokesman Eileen Hards wrote that BTS had “an unrealized record” and that the company was terminated for six contract breaches related to non-payment of insurance providers. and complete vehicle safety checks. Five of those occurred in January, she said. She also wrote that BTS had been dishonest about the viability of their business, but declined to provide evidence. Ervin is protesting all violations. He said the insurance-related issues were resolved last year, but they are still on his file.
Ervin’s dispute with Amazon shows how vulnerable companies that operate their branded truck fleets are to the exact demands of their lone customers.
“The level of control they have is amazing,” says Ervin. “You are really just managing a function.”
BTS is a part part of Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners program, a network of small package delivery businesses the company launched in 2018 as part of an effort to break its reliance on FedEx and UPS. The program works like a franchise model, but without legal protection of a. Amazon offers training, employee support, and van rentals, handsets, insurance, and maintenance. It also controls the number of routes received by the DSP. DSPs shoulder most of the liability, including vehicle maintenance and repair, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance, and liability for any accidents.
Ervin joined the Air Force shortly after graduating from high school as a ticket to his hometown of Flint, Michigan, spending 10 years in the army before transferring to the Reserve, where he rose to the highest rank of Lieutenant. chief sergeant. In 2018, he was working as a field engineer, testing military equipment for defense contractor Raytheon when he saw an online ad for a DSP program. Amazon is looking for veterans to launch small package delivery businesses, and Ervin is working the midnight shift and yearning for a change. He thinks the program seems like an exciting opportunity to apply his skills already at a disruptive company “on the cutting edge of technology”.
