USA - April 25, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of deliveryman working
2. Various of people picking up delivery packages from vehicle
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Taylor Sanders, owner, ride share driver:
"Ride share is not a viable option for them any more, and now they are looking at other outlets to try to support themselves, such as Amazon, Amazon Flex and Doordash Uber eats, etc."
4. Various of people working at express delivery company
5. Various of people picking up delivery packages
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Erin Hatton, professor, University at Buffalo (starting with shot 5):
"This is kind of exposing how important these service workers are to our service economy, but they are still not treated as such. They are still unprotected, they are still left vulnerable to exposure to the virus, they are still not getting paid enough."
7. Various of deliveryman working

The COVID-19 lockdown in the United States has brought the e-commerce and delivery industry at the forefront of the country's economy, providing various employment opportunities and people with their basic needs, but major concerns remain about the safety and treatment of the workers.

As all non-essential business venues are temporarily closed due to the lockdown, Americans have turned to online food ordering and online shopping for their necessities. According to the latest statistics from U.S. research institutes, E-commerce sales for various products surged in March, which in turn has led to a sudden rise of seven percent in employment in the transportation and logistics industry in mid-March.

With social distancing and staying at home measures being enforced across the country, many ride-share drivers have turned to delivery for their income.

"Ride share is not a viable option for them any more, and now they are looking at other outlets to try to support themselves, such as Amazon, Amazon Flex and Doordash Uber eats, etc," said Taylor Sanders, a ride share driver.

The prominence of the express delivery industry might have come as a fortuitous solution to the huge unemployment issue in the country since the COVID-19 outbreak, but just as the most other essential business functioning at this point, questions remain about the protection and equal treatment for the workers.

According to various media in the U.S., employees at Amazon have carried out three strikes since the end of March to protest the company's improper handling of the epidemic after 25 employees were diagnosed with the disease. The protesters allege that Amazon failed to provide workers with adequate masks, failed to carry out the promised regular temperature checks, and refused to give workers paid sick leave.

"This is kind of exposing how important these service workers are to our service economy, but they are still not treated as such. They are still unprotected, they are still left vulnerable to exposure to the virus, they are still not getting paid enough," said Erin Hatton, a professor of University at Buffalo in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV).

In addition to Amazon, other grocery delivery service platforms in the U.S. also saw employee strikes due to a lack of protective measures.