Last week I reported that Amazon Teamsters authorized strikes at two facilities in New York following Amazon's refusal to recognize their union and negotiate a contract addressing the company's low wages an dangerous working conditions, according to the union. The strikes come after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters called on Amazon to agree to bargaining dates for a union contract by Dec 15th.
Since then roughly 10,000 employees have gone on strike as of Dec 19th, forming pick lines in New York City, Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco, and Skokie.
Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said:
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it. These greedy executives had every chance to show decency and respect for the people who make their obscene profits possible. Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the price. This strike is on them.”
Amazon claims the Teamsters have “continued to intentionally mislead the public” about the situation:
“The truth is that 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.”
The Teamsters say this is “the largest strike against Amazon in US history,” but Amazon told CBS News it doesn't expect it to impact its operations, as the 10,000 strikers represent just a fraction of the company's 1.5M people in its warehouses and corporate offices. At this point, I'm confident that Amazon hires extra seasonal warehouse workers to supplement the inevitable strikes it deals with each year. Amazon's simply built striking workers into its cost of doing business — which is apparently cheaper than paying fair wages and providing safe working conditions.
Amazon has neither acknowledged the Teamsters declarations of unionization nor agreed to bargain with workers at JFK8 since the vote to unionize, more than two years ago.
New York Attorney General Letitia James visited the Staten Island center on Saturday and led a “Union busting is disgusting” chant with the protestors. He said during a short speech, “Power comes from the ground up, not the top down. And it’s important that individuals understand that this amazing country was built by working-class people and by the labor movement.”