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Why some Amazon drivers are on strike [Video]
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Why some Amazon drivers are on strike [Video]

Amazon delivery drivers are on strike across the U.S. Those on strike say that 400 packages, long hours and little help are part of a regular day at work.See the story in the video aboveAmazon says that the strike wont have an impact on holiday deliveries, but the thousands of delivery drivers who went on strike are hoping it moves the needle at the massive company.Thousands of delivery drivers walked off the job on Thursday, protesting not just for better working conditions and pay, but also for Amazon to recognize them as company employees.Despite wearing Amazon vests, driving Amazon vans and delivering only Amazon packages, the company does not consider many drivers to be its employees. Rather, Amazon considers them contracted workers through independent third-party companies called Delivery Service Partners.In a statement, Amazon said that its incredibly proud of the DSP program.Weve empowered 4,400 entrepreneurs to build and scale their businesses, which in turn have created 390,000 driving jobs and generated $58 billion in revenue, Nancy Kattel, a spokesperson for Amazon, said in a statement.The tension between Amazon and its delivery drivers boiled over again this week as members of the Teamsters union went on strike at Amazon facilities across New York, Illinois, Georgia and California. The drivers say they are underpaid and overworked.Thomas Hickman, 34, a delivery driver for Amazon in Georgia, told CNN that workdays can be grueling, often taking 12 hours to deliver hundreds of packages with limited breaks.The pay needs to be better. The health insurance needs to be better, Hickman said. We need better working conditions. If we do have 400-plus packages, we need someone to be a helper with us, to ride with us.The Teamsters claims to represent thousands of Amazon workers nationwide. That accounts for less than 1% of the companys U.S. workforce.Amazon said in a statement that the Teamsters do not represent anyone on the Amazon payroll.The Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public claiming that they represent thousands of Amazon employees and drivers. They dont, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative, said Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon.Long days, little helpHickman, who has been delivering packages for Amazon for four months, said he was excited about the job and wants to enjoy working as a driver. But the excessive deliveries, emphasis on speed and lack of assistance have worn on him to the point where he injured his ankle and leg while on the job.Its been wear and tear on my body, Hickman said. Its been wear and tear on everybodys body.Samantha Thomas, a delivery driver for Amazon for seven months, told CNN that she enjoys delivering packages and meeting people on her routes. Yet, she said, Amazon needs to do more to support its workers.We want for the company to care about us more, so that we can care more about the job were doing and show up better for this job, Thomas said.Ashshura Brooks, 29, began working as a delivery driver at an Amazon warehouse in Skokie, Illinois, in October 2023.Brooks, who has a 7-year-old son, said the job put excessive pressure on her to deliver packages quickly while dealing with long hours and a lack of safety guardrails.For example, she cited one day when she was sent out on a delivery route despite freezing temperatures. Brooks said there was no leniency with the job, contributing to stress.You either sacrifice your safety in order to get things done faster, or you sacrifice your job in order to do things more safely, she said.Brooks said she hopes people who are eager to receive packages for Christmas and Hanukkah can empathize with the drivers demands but primarily, she said she hopes Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon, listens to the workers.It is a shame that America, as a society, has come to the place of, We are putting packages and profit over people, Brooks said.These are the same people that are delivering your packages to your customers, and you care too much about the profit that you are not listening to the people who are working for you, Brooks added. And that needs to change.The Teamsters union cites Amazons $2 trillion market value as evidence that the company has more than enough resources to support its workers. Amazon reported a net income of $39.2 billion in the first nine months of this year, more than double for the same period in 2023.The fact of the matter is they make trillions of dollars, and theyre not able to pay us for the work that we do, Hickman said.Amazon says they arent Amazon workersThe debate over the employer-employee relationship has proved fraught in recent years, with legal battles over whether Amazon is considered the drivers employer, responsible for better wages and benefits.Trenton Knight, a delivery driver in Georgia who has driven for Amazon for five months, told CNN that drivers feel neglected because their work-life balance is not respected. He said it is difficult to get a shift, but once assigned, the route often takes the entire day. He said he is striking for better benefits and wages, and for him and his fellow drivers to be recognized as Amazon workers.If we werent their workers, we wouldnt be driving their trucks, we wouldnt be wearing their gear, we wouldnt be delivering their packages, Knight said.CNNs Jaide Timm-Garcia, Isabel Rosales and Chris Isidore contributed to reporting.

BangShift.com This Engine Makes More Power Than Newbern Has Ever Had! HED Beer Money Engine Build, A Day At The Races, And More. [Video]
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Small Business Lifestyle

BangShift.com This Engine Makes More Power Than Newbern Has Ever Had! HED Beer Money Engine Build, A Day At The Races, And More. [Video]

Newberns Drag and Drive Fox-body Mustang is cool, but the previous engine combo just didnt work out as well as he had hoped, so it was time for some newfound power from HED. HED stands for Harrell Engine and Dyno, and its home to horsepower in the Mooresville North Carolina area. Hes also neighbors with several other cool spots, including Custom by Bigun, where Newbern and Finnegan visited regularly. Hes not getting a complete HED powerplant, but hes got a pretty special shortblock and parts just like another famed Fox body runs.

KCTV5 Cares: Catholic Charities Annual Snow Ball [Video]
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Small Business Lifestyle

KCTV5 Cares: Catholic Charities Annual Snow Ball [Video]

The 51st annual Snow Ball will be an event like no other — and so will its impact! Funds raised will help Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas move those they serve from a place of needing help to one of having hope. Visit snowballgala.org and help families break the cycle of poverty once and for all. Purchase individual tickets or a table, or make a meaningful gift.

Maine auctioneer has hunted attic treasures for 50-plus years [Video]
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Small Business Lifestyle

Maine auctioneer has hunted attic treasures for 50-plus years [Video]

Kaja Veilleux has been hunting New England attic treasures for more than 50 years. He once found a copy of the Declaration of Independence sitting on a pile of trash, and he made headlines this year when he stumbled upon a million-dollar portrait gathering dust in an old farmhouse in Maine that may have been painted by the Dutch master Rembrandt.Then there was the time, Veilleux said, he was shown a $50,000 gold coin kicking around in a tool drawer only to have the well-meaning owner destroy much of its value before he could auction it by using a scouring pad to clean it and scratch it.It’s like a treasure hunt every day,” Veilleux said with a chuckle.Many people dream of cashing in on some dusty, old heirloom. In October, three sisters from Ohio sold a rare dime for more than half-a-million dollars. Two years ago, a case of old hockey cards found in a Canadian home sold for more than $3.7 million.Veilleux, 73, helps people sort gems from junk when he appraises furniture, antiques and art by using his knowledge of what similar items have sold for in the past. But art auctions can be fickle. Who could have guessed a banana duct-taped to a wall could sell for more than $6 million?A fake provided an early lessonVeilleux started collecting coins at age 8 and soon found he had a good memory for visual objects. His training for a career in antique dealing has all been on the job, he said, including a lesson he learned early when he spent most of the money he had at the time on bidding for a beautiful miniature painting.When he got home from the auction and looked at the artwork under a magnifying glass, he realized it was a print, with dabs of paint added to make it look genuine.I paid $350 for a $35 object, which always taught me to look at things very carefully, Veilleux said.In the late 1990s, he was at a house call in South Freeport, Maine. It was a hoarder’s house, he said, where piles of trash were awaiting their trip to an already-full dumpster. Atop one pile, Veilleux spotted what was later confirmed to be a 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence.He auctioned it for $99,000 but the state of Maine sued to take possession of the document, and won. That meant both the buyer and seller ended up missing out.A possible Rembrandt is found in MaineThis year’s artwork find was his most valuable yet. Veilleux said he and an assistant were on a house call in Camden, Maine.We start going through the house and there were rare little things and big things everywhere, Veilleux said. Finally, we are on the third floor near the attic, and we find a stack of paintings, and in it is this beautiful portrait of a young woman by Rembrandt.The painting of a teenage girl in a black dress with a white ruffled collar was sold as after Rembrandt, meaning it was in the style of the 17th Century master but wasn’t proven to be by him. The artwork sold for $1.4 million, including auction fees, indicating the buyer was willing to take a significant gamble the painting was a Rembrandt although it would have likely sold for many times that price with a proven provenance.People seek to value their heirloomsEach Tuesday, people bring in their heirlooms and collectors items to Veilleux’s office in Thomaston, Maine, to see what they might fetch at auction. The appraisal is free but Veilleux gets a commission if they end up selling the pieces at his Thomaston Place Auction Galleries.Erika Taylor stopped by on a recent Tuesday with two artworks her father had collected in China in the 1940s, when he was living there after escaping from Nazi Germany. One depicted a blooming peony and the other a grasshopper.She said Veilleux had given her an initial estimate of up to $30,000 for each of the artworks, based on the photographs she’d shown him. But she was in for bad news.When Veilleux inspected the artworks closely, he declared they were prints, because paint would have permeated the paper.It’s disappointing,” Taylor said. But he has a lot of experience.Still, Taylor wasn’t totally convinced and said she might seek a second opinion.Another seller, Jean Koenig, got better news. She brought in a large aquamarine ring. She said her father found the gem in a Brazilian mine and her grandmother had fashioned it into a ring, adding rubies and diamonds.Koenig ended up agreeing to auction the ring, with an estimated sales price of between $10,000 and $15,000. She plans to split the proceeds with her seven siblings.It’s just been sitting in a box for years,” she said. We decided it was time.Related content: