I arrived at the deli a bit after their lunch rush. The friendly young woman behind the counter took my order (a piece of chocolate cake for a friend – really), then explained to a co-worker her need to get away in a few minutes.
“Their office closes at 4:00 p.m.,” she said. “I need to get my card.” That card would allow her to work after her deli job for one of the food delivery services because, “I really need a second income.”
Last week’s monthly jobs report reported a national unemployment rate of 3.8% and noted a 3.4% increase, year to year in wages. That same report found that 4.1 million workers were “involuntarily part-time,” like the young woman at the deli counter.
And the Amazon driver shot last week in St. Peters.
Per various press reports, Jaylen Walker – a man in his 20’s – was establishing himself as a personal trainer. To make extra money he drove, when they needed him, a van in Amazon livery.
Actually, that van had little to do with Amazon: it belonged to a private concern, a Delivery Service Partner nurtured by Amazon but an independent business…
Amazon emphasizes that these will be independent package delivery companies.
This independence is key from a legal perspective. A series of costly court cases have dogged FedEx Ground’s program, challenging the company’s contention that FedEx Ground operators were independent contractors, asserting that they should have been classified as employees. FedEx is in the process of transitioning from its previous Contracted Service Provider approach to a new Independent Service Provider model that establishes new requirements for participating in the program…
Those Delivery Service Partner businesses aren’t lucrative. Amazon wants to have multiple delivery options in every market, limiting operators to 10 to 40 trucks. Each truck yields about $150 a week for the business, even working on seven day a week schedules, meaning money is tight for wages fees paid to the people actually delivering the packages…
“Walker is an independent contractor and does not have insurance.”
Let’s hope that Jeff Bezos at least sends Jaylen a Get Well card… Probably won’t happen: Amazon’s lawyers would advise against it.
For that lady at the deli counter, Jaylen Walker and so many other Americans in their prime years, the booming economy laughs at them. A generation ago we watched the rise of McJobs, part-time, as-needed employees stuffed into the service economy. Now, companies have pushed the bar lower.
From the Internal Revenue Service website: “The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.” Right, Jaylen could have decided to wait till Friday to deliver that van full of Amazon Prime packages…
By the way, that 3.4% jump in wages? Much of the increase came from states, such as Missouri, which raised their minimum wage in January. (Remember, the least paid Missourians received a 9.6% raise at the start of the year.) Take out those minimum wage increases and, well, pay raises failed to keep pace with inflation for most American workers.
The good news? Those food delivery services and Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners are still hiring.
Glenn
Excellent summary. Thank you Glenn.