Amazon workers went on strike at seven locations during holiday shopping
An Amazon delivery truck passes people holding signs and marching during a Teamsters union strike at an Amazon facility in Alpharetta, Georgia, Dec. 19, 2024.
Elijah Novel | Reuters
Amazon workers at all seven facilities in New York, Georgia, California and Illinois went on strike Thursday to demand better benefits, higher wages and safer working conditions.
The strike, organized by members of the Teamsters union, is aimed at pressuring Amazon to come to the negotiating table and avoid disruptions during the holiday shopping season. The union had previously given Amazon until Sunday to agree on dates for contract negotiations.
“If your package is delayed over the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” Teamsters 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.”
In a statement sent to CNBC, an Amazon spokesperson said the Teamsters had been engaged in a year-long campaign to “deliberately mislead the public.” While the union says it represents thousands of workers and drivers, the protesters at the sites are “almost completely outside,” Amazon said.
“The truth is that they could not get enough support from employees and partners and brought in outsiders to harass and threaten our team, which is inappropriate and dangerous,” said the company, adding that “it continues to focus on getting customers.” their holiday orders.”
A representative for the Teamsters did not immediately respond to CNBC’s question about whether outsiders are participating in the strike.
The Teamsters website says about 10,000 Amazon workers have joined the union. That represents less than 1% of the company’s 1.53 million workers, as of Dec. 31, 2023. The union said Thursday’s strike is the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history.
Amazon has long opposed unions among its workers, but organizing efforts began to be seen in 2022, when warehouse workers on Staten Island in New York voted to join a union. Amazon had fought hard against unionization efforts, so it was a heavy defeat for the company.
In June, workers at the Amazon Labor Union, which led the Staten Island union, voted to join the Teamsters after struggling to negotiate with Amazon.
— CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report.
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