The state's attorney general filed the federal antitrust lawsuit Tuesday, accusing Amazon of holding down pay for drivers in its Delivery Service Partner program
Isabella Falsetti/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, centers on Amazon's Delivery Service Partner program, which launched in 2018 and relies on thousands of small contracted companies to handle last-mile package delivery. Davenport accuses Amazon of holding a "monopsony" over the market for delivery driver services — a form of market control in which a single buyer dominates a labor market and dictates employment terms.
According to the complaint, delivery contractors rely so heavily on Amazon that they lack the leverage to attract drivers with better pay or improved working conditions. The complaint also accuses Amazon of barring contractors from poaching one another's drivers — a restriction the state argues stifles wage competition across the network. DSP drivers earn less than workers at UPS, FedEx $FDX and the U.S. Postal Service, the complaint alleges, while working under conditions that include electronic monitoring and pressure to meet delivery quotas.
The lawsuit also contends that Amazon moved to suppress organizing efforts by ending or threatening to end contracts with DSPs whose employees sought to unionize. As a case in point, the complaint describes events at an Amazon delivery station in Queens, New York, where the company allegedly cut routes, shed workers, and eventually ended its relationship with a contractor in the wake of union organizing.
"As our complaint alleges, Amazon built a company worth trillions while subjecting drivers in its delivery network to artificially low pay and punishing working conditions thanks to its overwhelming power in the labor market," Davenport said in a statement.
Amazon disputed the allegations. "The complaint is not grounded in fact," the company said in a statement, adding that claims about working conditions are "just wrong." Amazon maintained that its delivery service partners run their own businesses, controlling decisions across their operations, and are free to contract with carriers beyond Amazon.
Davenport is seeking treble damages, a court order barring the alleged anticompetitive practices, and preliminary injunctive relief to prevent Amazon from terminating additional delivery contractors during the litigation, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The lawsuit adds to broader scrutiny of Amazon's delivery model. Separately, New York City is considering a bill that would compel Amazon to bring its delivery service partners on as direct employees; Amazon has warned that such a measure could prompt it to pull its delivery operations from the city entirely.
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