Unionized Amazon workers in New York City, Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco and Skokie, Illinois, went on strike Thursday, and more at other facilities are prepared to join them, the Teamsters union announced.
Teamsters locals have set up picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers so that other Amazon warehouse workers and drivers can join in. Even those without collective bargaining agreements have the legal right to also join picket lines and withhold their labor, the union said in a press release.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it.”
Amazon said it hasn’t felt any impact to its operations. The company dismissed the strike as a public relations ploy that for the most part doesn’t include actual Amazon workers, and alleged that the Teamsters’ conduct this week and for the past year has been unlawful.
“What you see here are almost entirely outsiders — not Amazon employees or partners — and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in an emailed statement. “The truth is that they were unable to get enough support from our employees and partners and have brought in outsiders to come and harass and intimidate our team, which is inappropriate and dangerous. We appreciate all our team’s great work to serve their customers and communities, and are continuing to focus on getting customers their holiday orders.”
A Teamsters representative pushed back against the notion that non-workers are involved in the strike. “This is more of Amazon spreading a false narrative. Workers at Amazon facilities across the country are on strike right now, ” Teamsters spokesperson Kara Deniz said.
Amazon didn’t address questions about how discussions with its workers are proceeding, except to say that, in general, while workers are free to join a union, the company values engaging directly with workers, without an intermediary. Amazon also listed ways it has recently improved working conditions and pay at its warehouses and for its contract drivers, including increasing its starting wages and providing free Prime memberships.
At this point, nearly 10,000 Amazon workers have joined the Teamsters, “fighting for higher wages, better benefits, and safer conditions at work,” per the union’s release.
In a statement, Gabriel Irizarry, a driver for Amazon in Skokie, refuted Amazon’s contention that its pay is already in line with what unions are demanding.
“They talk a big game about taking care of their workers, but when it comes down to it, Amazon does not respect us and our right to negotiate for better working conditions and wages,” Irizarry said. “We can’t even afford to pay our bills.”
Thursday’s action comes about two years after the Teamsters established a division dedicated to mobilizing Amazon workers. Earlier this year, the Amazon Labor Union voted to join the labor giant. That group had been an independent organization, which in 2022 beat the odds when it successfully organized at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island. The strike also is occurring just days after the U.S. Senate released a report alleging that Amazon’s warehouses create a “uniquely dangerous” work environment.
Amazon has said that report “features selective, outdated information that lacks context and isn’t grounded in reality.”