# Amazon TOM Team Drivers at Indiana's OIL9 Facility Join Teamsters Local 142

> Amazon TOM Team drivers at the OIL9 facility in Merrillville, Indiana, joined Teamsters Local 142 and marched to demand union recognition and a contract.

- Published: 2026-10-23T15:01:24+00:00
- Section: Business
- Author: News Desk
- URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-23/amazon-tom-team-drivers-join-teamsters
- Source: [PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amazon-tom-team-drivers-at-oil9-facility-join-teamsters-302918209.html)

## Key takeaways

- Amazon TOM Team drivers at the OIL9 facility in Merrillville, Indiana, joined Teamsters Local 142, becoming the first Indiana drivers to unionize with the Teamsters.
- The drivers marched on October 23, 2026, to demand Amazon recognize their union and bargain a collective bargaining agreement.
- Randy Korgan, Director of the Teamsters Amazon Division, said the union will continue to grow its movement so every Amazon worker gets dignity and respect.

[Amazon](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000sz/amazon) Transportation Operations Management (TOM) Team drivers out of the OIL9 facility in Merrillville, Indiana, have joined [Teamsters](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0004h7j/teamsters) Local 142, becoming the first Indiana drivers to unionize with the Teamsters, according to a [PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amazon-tom-team-drivers-at-oil9-facility-join-teamsters-302918209.html) release. The drivers marched on the boss on October 23, 2026, to demand Amazon recognize their union and bargain a union contract.

## OIL9 Drivers March for Recognition

Amazon TOM Team drivers carry a Commercial Driver's License and transport freight between Amazon facilities before last-mile deliveries. The OIL9 drivers join TOM Team Teamsters from the SDF9 facility in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, and the MCI9 facility in Liberty, Missouri. Unlike last-mile delivery drivers, who are employed through Amazon's Delivery Service Partner model, TOM Team drivers are directly employed by Amazon, the release said.

"Amazon Teamsters are proud to expand our national footprint and welcome OIL9 TOM Team drivers to our movement. It is never easy being the first group of workers in a state to join a union, but they are displaying the courage and strength it takes to be a Teamster," said Randy Korgan, Director of the Teamsters Amazon Division. "TOM Team drivers play an often unseen, but essential role to Amazon's operations. We will continue to grow our movement so that every Amazon worker gets the dignity and respect they have earned."

Drivers at OIL9 are seeking better pay and workplace safety standards guaranteed through a collective bargaining agreement. "Amazon expects the highest standards but barely gives us enough to live. We want the recognition we deserve," said Charles Hurd, a TOM Team driver out of OIL9 and new member of Local 142. "Amazon wasn't going to listen to us as individuals, so the only option was to join together as Teamsters. We look forward to winning our first union contract."

## Amazon's Scale and Recent Moves

Amazon operates a global technology platform spanning e-commerce, Amazon Web Services, Prime subscriptions, advertising, digital streaming, and consumer devices, according to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data). The same records show Amazon announced plans in June 2026 to invest an additional $13 billion to expand AI and cloud infrastructure in India, bringing its total planned investment to $48 billion between 2026 and 2030, with AWS data center capacity expanding in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Amazon has deployed over 1 million robots in its warehouses globally, the same records show.

## Earlier Teamsters Organizing

On October 8, 2026, over 115 drivers and warehouse workers at Southern Glazer's Oklahoma facilities voted to join Teamsters Local 516, according to PR Newswire. The workers, who faced a union-busting campaign, seek better pay, seniority, and overtime respect, and will negotiate their first contract with the union. On October 7, 2026, Yellow Corp. and Teamsters settled WARN Act claims, with the IBT reaching a principle agreement allowing about $17.2 million in claims, according to Yahoo. The deal also includes $1.2 million in grievance claims and $1.8 million for unused holidays, pending court approval.

## Next Steps for Amazon

The OIL9 drivers are demanding that Amazon recognize their union and bargain a union contract, the release said. The Teamsters said it will continue to grow its movement so that every Amazon worker gets the dignity and respect they have earned.

## Companies in this story

- [Amazon company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000sz/amazon) · website: https://amazon.com
- [Teamsters company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0004h7j/teamsters) · website: https://teamster.org

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