Workers at seven Amazon facilities went on strike Thursday, an effort by the Teamsters union to pressure the e-commerce company for a labor agreement during a key shopping period.
The Teamsters said the workers, who voted to authorize strikes in recent days, joined picket lines after Amazon ignored a Sunday deadline the union set for contract negotiations. The union called it the largest strike yet against the company in the U.S., although Amazon said it did not expect the labor action to impact its operations.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters claims it represents nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, a small portion of the 800,000 workers employed in the company’s U.S. warehouses. The union hasn’t said how many workers would participate in the strike or how long the walkout would last.
“Amazon is pushing its workers closer to the picket line by failing to show them the respect they have earned,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement.
The strikes happening Thursday are taking place at seven delivery stations, where packages are prepared for delivery vehicles and then given to contractors who drop off them off to customers every day. They include three locations in Southern California, and one each in San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, Georgia, and Skokie, Illinois, according to the union’s announcement.
Two people were taken into custody at the demonstration in the New York City borough of Queens, according to the New York Police Department. Police did not say why the arrests were made. They said the individuals were given criminal court summons and then released.
The biggest warehouse affiliated with the Teamsters is located in the New York City borough of Staten Island. In 2022, thousands of workers at the warehouse, known as JFK8, voted to be represented by the nascent Amazon Labor Union. Workers then choose to affiliate with the Teamsters this past summer.
The National Labor Relations Board certified that election to unionize, but Amazon has refused to bargain on a contract. In the process, the company has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the labor board.
At the facilities striking Thursday, workers unionized with the Teamsters by demonstrating majority support but without holding government-administered elections. They include Amazon-employed warehouse workers in San Francisco, and subcontracted delivery drivers elsewhere.
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Under labor law, companies can recognize unions without elections being held, but the practice is rare, said John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University.
Amazon workers in more locations are “prepared to join” the fight, the Teamsters said, noting that employees at the Staten Island warehouse and at a company air hub in California also have authorized strikes.
When asked about the strike Thursday, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said: “What you see here are almost entirely outsiders, not Amazon employees or partners, and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters.”
“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,” Nantel said.
Seattle-based Amazon has said it does not consider delivery drivers like the ones on strike to be its employees. Under the company’s business model, the drivers work for third-party businesses, called Delivery Service Partners, who deliver millions of packages daily. Amazon has accused the union, which says it represents some of the drivers, of “intentionally” misleading the public.
“This is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Nantel said.
But the Teamsters have argued Amazon essentially controls everything the drivers do and should be classified as their employer. U.S. labor regulators have sided with the union in filings made before the NLRB. In September, Amazon boosted pay for the drivers amid the growing pressure.
Though Amazon says it does not expect the strike to impact its operations, a walkout — especially one that lasts many days — could delay shipments in some metro areas.
Shares of Amazon.com Inc. rose about 1.3% Thursday but were slightly down in after-hours trading.
Amazon workers affiliated with the Teamsters union launched a strike at seven of the company’s delivery hubs less than a week before Christmas.
The Teamsters said the workers, who voted to authorize strikes in recent days, joined picket lines on Thursday after Amazon ignored a Sunday deadline the union had set for contract negotiations.
The company says it doesn’t expect the strike to impact holiday shipments.
Amazon has a couple hundred employees at each delivery station. The Teamsters mainly have focused on organizing delivery drivers, who work for contractors that handle package deliveries for the company. But Amazon has rebuffed demands to come to the negotiating table since it doesn’t consider the drivers to be its employees.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters also says the union represents some Amazon warehouse workers.
Here’s what else you need to know:
Where are the strikes happening?
The strikes are taking place at three delivery hubs in Southern California, and one each in San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, Georgia, and Skokie, Illinois, according to the union’s announcement.
The union hasn’t said how many workers are participating in the strike, nor how long it will go on. Vinnie Perrone, the president of a local Teamsters union in metro New York, said Thursday that the walkout would continue “as long as it takes.”
The union, which claims to represent 10,000 Amazon workers at 10 facilities, said workers in more locations were prepared to join the fight.
Employees at a company air hub in California have authorized a strike. So have workers at an Amazon warehouse in New York, which unionized with the nascent Amazon Labor Union in 2022 and has since affiliated with the Teamsters.
The Teamsters says its local unions are also putting up picket lines at other Amazon warehouses. A company spokesperson said Thursday the strikers were “almost entirely outsiders, not Amazon employees or partners, and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters.”
What do the workers want?
The striking workers are fighting for higher wages, better benefits, and safer work conditions.
The Teamsters have tried to get Amazon to come to the negotiating table since last year when the labor organization first said it had unionized a group of delivery drivers in California who work for a contractor. Amazon -- which denies it employs the workers -- refused, leading the union to file unfair labor charges against the company at the National Labor Relations Board.
In August, prosecutors at the federal labor agency classified Amazon as a “joint employer” of subcontracted drivers. In September, the company boosted hourly pay for the drivers amid the growing pressure.
Amazon warehouse workers who voted to union in the New York City borough of Staten Island also have tried to get the company to engage in contract negotiations.
The National Labor Relations Board certified the Amazon Labor Union election, but the company objected to the representation vote and refused to bargain. In the process, Amazon also filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the labor board, which it aaccused of tainting the vote.
Some organizers involved with the unionization effort there have long believed Amazon would not come to the negotiating table unless workers went on strike.
What about holiday deliveries?
Amazon says it doesn’t expect the strike to impact its operations, but a walkout — especially one that lasts many days — could delay shipments in some metro areas.
An Amazon spokesperson said Thursday that the company intentionally builds its sites close to where customers are, schedules shipping windows and works with other large carriers, such as UPS, to deliver products.
“We believe in the strength of our network and plan for contingencies to minimize potential operational impact or costs,” the spokesperson said.