“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” the Teamsters president said.Workers at seven Amazon facilities are set to strike starting Thursday morning, just days before Christmas, in one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters organized the strike to pressure Amazon, accusing the company of refusing to negotiate contracts by ignoring the union’s December 15 deadline. The action aims to disrupt some package deliveries during this crucial period.
“Holiday package delays are on Amazon’s greed,” said Teamsters President Sean O’Brien. “Despite having every opportunity to treat workers with respect, Amazon’s executives chose profits over people. Now, they’re facing the consequences.”
While the Teamsters have called this strike “the largest against Amazon in U.S. history,” Amazon has stated that its operations are unlikely to be significantly affected by the stoppage.
Amazon workers authorize strikes in New York, California, Illinois, Atlanta
The Teamsters, representing nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities—roughly 1% of the company’s hourly workforce—are ramping up pressure on the retailer, Reuters reported.
Workers voted to authorize the strike after Amazon failed to recognize the union or begin contract negotiations by the union’s deadline last Sunday. The Teamsters are demanding a contract that ensures higher wages and better working conditions, with officials warning the strike could expand beyond the initial seven locations.
Strikes are planned at facilities in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Skokie, Illinois, and Southern California as of Thursday morning. Additionally, Teamsters local unions have announced plans to set up picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide.
“Amazon Teamsters at other facilities are ready to join the movement,” the union said in a statement.
Amazon says strike won’t slow holiday deliveries
Amazon representatives told CNN Tuesday that the potential strikes would not interrupt holiday business.
The Seattle-based online retailer has consistently refused to recognize the union, even filing objections with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), according to Reuters. In a prior statement to USA TODAY, an Amazon spokesperson dismissed the strike as unrepresentative of its workforce.
Most workers participating in the strike are drivers, whom Amazon claims are not its employees but are instead employed by third-party businesses.
“For over a year, the Teamsters have deliberately misled the public, falsely claiming to represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers,’” said company spokesperson Eileen Hands in the statement. “They don’t, and this is yet another effort to promote a false narrative.”
In a statement to Reuters, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the Teamsters “attempted to coerce” workers illegally to join the union.
“The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union,” Nantel said.
