Amazon drivers built workplace-only solidarity while couriers developed broader political identity frames.

Evidence

As these two interviews with workers’ leaders show, one outcome of the mobilization was the emergence of a very specific collective solidarity among workers, who became aware of common working conditions. With calls for recognition as specialized logistics workers, the identity framing remained focused upon the workplace. The pragmatic orientation of the mobilization facilitated an identity framing of workers sharing grievances and struggling for the recognition of their rights. During the protests, the initially small web of activists expanded through the utilization of resources from traditional unionism. These initial mobilization processes triggered the recognition of a new category of logistics workers at Amazon while, at the same time, building the foundations for a bargaining system in a sector that has been deeply affected by digitization. Unlike in the case of food delivery couriers, the collective identity developed by the drivers remained limited to union activity at the workplace, shying away from more political claims. — Donatella della Porta et al., Mobilizing Against the Odds, 116

Categorization

• XREF: This directly evidences the reader’s stated question: platform work does not uniformly re-aggregate workers; the frame depends on organizational resources and labor-organization specifics, not platform work per se. — connects to: Amazon drivers’ unionization won recognition as logistics workers but stayed workplace-bound without broader politicization. — Donatella della Porta et al., Mobilizing Against the Odds: Solidarity…, 85; Amazon drivers mobilized a narrow identity frame demanding recognition as skilled logistics workers. — Donatella della Porta et al., Mobilizing Against the Odds: Solidarity…, 99; Amazon driver mobilization is deliberately depoliticized — Donatella della Porta et al., Mobilizing Against the Odds: Solidarity…, 108 (+1 more)