Amazon
is struggling to hold on to the pilots who ship your packages
Amazon's promise of one-day shipping has led it to increasingly rely on its own
air cargo division, Amazon Air. But as the number of shipments pushed through
the cargo arm multiplies, the pilots who fly those packages continue to voice
that they are overworked and underpaid.
The pilots don't work for Amazon directly, but are employed by the contractors
Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) and Atlas Air. More than 200 cargo pilots
who fly for ABX Air, which is a division of ATSG, cast a vote of "no
confidence" against management's ability to resolve ongoing labor
disputes, reported Reuters earlier this week. In total, all but one member of
the pilot's union voted "Yes" on a resolution that asked if they had
"no confidence in management's willingness to negotiate or reach an
agreement for the benefit of all stakeholders to include the shareholders, the
customers, and the employees."
The pilot union, the Airline Professionals Association, has battled with the
management of ATSG for five years to negotiate new work rules for its pilots.
Issues involving how pilots are scheduled for their routes, salaries, and
retirement still remain unresolved.
Those who fly for Atlas Air, another cargo operator used by Amazon, recently
lost a three-year bid to secure a new work contract. Atlas pilots protested
outside an airport in Cincinnati, Ohio for better workplace conditions in
April. And in February, Atlas pilot crashed an Amazon Air flight, killing all
three of its occupants, which some have suggested was linked to its staff being
overworked.
Pilots at both airlines have complained about low morale, low pay, and poor
workplace retention. Such troubles are brewing during a global pilot shortage,
and many well-trained pilots who work for Atlas and ABX have simply left for
better opportunities. A union survey earlier this year found that 60% of the
pilots who work for the three airlines employed by Amazon (ABX Air, Atlas Air,
and another called Southern Air) are looking for work elsewhere.
"We still have very experienced high quality pilots leaving for other
carriers because they have better pay and better schedules," Rick
Ziebarth, an ABX Air pilot and executive council chairman of Airline
Professionals Association Teamsters Local 1224, told Quartz. Ziebarth argued
that as a result of well-trained pilots leaving, ABX is forced to hire people
with far less experience who require more training. Quartz has reached out to
Amazon for comment on the matter.
Worker grievances appear to have cropped up in every leg of Amazon's supply
chain. Amazon's warehouse workers were found to suffer injuries at twice the
national average of other warehouse workers, according to an investigation from
Reveal. Delivery drivers for Amazon Flex, who are considered independent
contractors by Amazon, work long hours with no chance of earning overtime or
benefits.
ABX Air pilots won't be able to strike until released from the US National
Mediation Board (NMB), the federal agency which oversees aviation industry
labor relations. Ziebarth said the board is still in the middle of holding
negotiations with ATSG.
According to data from Flightpath Economics, a consulting firm, pilots who work
for ABX Air and Atlas Air are amongst the lowest paid in the industry.
Company Pilot pay per hour
ATSG $152
Atlas $139
Fedex $243
UPS $288
As a whole, cargo pilots face tougher working conditions than their passenger
pilot counterparts. Cargo pilots were left out of a 2014 law that required
passenger pilots to get a minimum of 10 hours' rest between flights. Aviation
experts also say that lax safety standards and pilot fatigue has lead to a
higher number of fatal crashes on cargo flights compared to passenger flights.
Meanwhile, Amazon's air shipments are only likely to continue rising. FedEx in
June announced it would no longer assist Amazon in its air delivery. That same
month, Amazon announced it would roll out free one-day shipping for millions of
new products. These combined factors have led to the e-commerce giant to rely
on its own delivery services than ever before. In July, Amazon Air flew 136
million pounds of goods across in the US, a 29% increase from the same period
in 2018, and only 9 pounds less than the December 2018 holiday rush, according
to data from ATSG and Atlas Air analyzed by Cargo Facts Consulting. And the
growth simply won't die down this holiday season, when Amazon expects to invest
$1.5 billion into one-day shipping costs alone.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has said that his company will rely less on airplanes
as it builds out its local warehouses. But for now, Amazon is continuing to
grow its air cargo operations: it added 15 more planes to its fleet this year,
and says it expects to have 70 planes by 2021. It is working on a $1.5 billion
expansion of its Amazon Air Hub in Cincinnati-essentially an Amazon cargo
airport-which is expected to finish in 2021. When complete, the Air Hub will be
able to handle 200 daily takeoffs and landings. It recently opened an Air Hub
in Fort Worth, Texas. It seems that as long as demand is high, the future of
Amazon's fast and free shipping will rely heavily on air freight.
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