Dive Brief:

• Pilots flying for the air cargo companies tasked with Amazon’s Prime Air deliveries have established a website and a series of social media ads explaining directly to Prime customers why they went on strike in November, according to a press release from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union 1224. 

• The union says that air carrier contractors Atlas Air WW and Air Transport Services Group (and its ABX Air subsidiary) “overcommitted their operations by taking on Amazon’s business,” according to an ad. “They took on the work despite known staffing problems, and the problems are getting worse.”

• The retailer is "confident in our ability to serve customers," Amazon spokesperson Kelly Cheeseman told Retail Dive on Monday. "Several weeks ago we re-balanced capacity across our network of carrier partners to ensure there are no disruptions through the busy holiday season, and this rebalancing remains in effect," she said in an email. 

Dive Insight:

“Disruption” is often brought about through technology and/or creative ideas that exploit underserved or inefficient segments of a given business. But other times efficiencies are forced through more simplistic, less creative (and decidedly old-fashioned) cost-cutting tactics like shrinking pay or bloated, underpaid overtime. Aside from overworking pilots — the union says that ABX Air in particular “is forcing pilots to continuously work during their time off due to company mismanagement” — the union warned Amazon shoppers that the e-commerce giant is risking late deliveries with its hardball approach.

“Amazon customers shouldn’t have to worry if their gifts for their children and loved ones won’t make it in time for the holidays,” Atlas Air pilot Capt. Mike Griffith said in a statement. “But our airlines are avoiding the reality that they don’t have enough pilots to do the job, and it isn’t fair to our customers who might feel the effects this holiday season. We are taking our concerns directly to Prime customers.” 

The union is appealing to customers’ holiday spirit, too. “It breaks my heart that I might have to tell my family that I can’t spend Christmas morning with them because I could be called in to work at the last minute — all because of mismanagement at my airline,” ABX Air pilot Rick Ziebarth said in a statement. “As pilots, it’s a top priority to make sure our customers get their deliveries on time so they can enjoy the holidays with their loved ones. We are also moms and dads who want to give our own families holidays filled with joy, and it isn’t right that executives at Atlas Air and ABX Air are threatening that by refusing to staff their operations properly."

Earlier this month, ABX Air pilots were forced back to work by a federal court in Ohio, according to an earlier report from Re/Code, which added that Amazon had threatened to nix its contract with that airline unless the dispute could be resolved. 

All of this raises questions about just how Amazon’s shipping ambitions (and efficiencies) can be realized. In its latest quarter, the retailer’s stellar profits were almost totally wiped away by its fulfillment costs. Amazon may yet be able to glean savings by orchestrating its own air delivery via these contracts, but the union insists it’s risking late deliveries well beyond the holidays because pilots are looking elsewhere for work: 65% of surveyed pilots said they plan to apply to another airline in the coming year, according to a press release.

That same survey also found that 88% of respondents said their carrier does not have enough pilots to meet the long-term needs of Amazon and DHL, the other shipper caught up in the dispute. The pilot deficit will soar to 15,000 by 2026, according numbers from the University of North Dakota's Aviation Department cited by the union. If those numbers hold up, shippers United Parcel Service and FedEx (which, according to the union, offer “competitive benefit and pay packages”) are likely to attract pilots dissatisfied with their contracts with these Amazon-affiliated airlines. 

Meanwhile, Amazon is also facing complaints from truck and van drivers, who say they’re under pressure to make deliveries on time, without overtime or legally required breaks for meals, according to the Los Angeles Times, which cites its own interviews and court documents in its report. 

This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the 2016 holiday shopping season. You can browse our holiday page for more stories.