The Teamsters said workers will begin a strike at Amazon facilities across the country Thursday morning, as the union calls it. the biggest strike Less than a week before Christmas against the online shopping giant.
The Teamsters said the strike will begin early Thursday at several facilities, including New York City, Atlanta, three locations in Southern California, San Francisco and Skokie, Illinois.
In addition, the Teamsters said local unions will also set up major picket lines at Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide.
They joined workers from the Teamsters Local 63 union as they rallied in downtown Los Angeles on Monday morning in support of unionizing Amazon workers in Alabama.
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In a news release, the union called it “the largest strike against Amazon in US history,” and it comes after Amazon refused to negotiate with workers organized by the Teamsters.
“If your package is delayed over the holidays, you can blame it on Amazon’s insatiable greed,” Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and make it right for our members. They ignored it.”
In a statement to ABC News, an Amazon spokesperson said the Teamsters illegally forced workers to join the union.
“For more than a year, the Teamsters have continued to deliberately mislead the public by claiming they represent ‘thousands of Amazon workers and drivers.’ They do not, and this is yet another attempt to push a false narrative,” an Amazon spokesperson said. said Kelly Nantel. “It is true that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers into joining them, which is illegal and the subject of multiple unfair labor practice allegations against the union.”
The spokeswoman said the company has increased the starting minimum wage for fulfillment center workers and transportation workers by 20% and raised the average base wage to $22 an hour in September.
The strike announced by the Teamsters comes after workers at several Amazon facilities authorized a walkout.
UNITED STATES – September 9: Members of IBT Local 804 protest Amazon during the Labor Day Parade, Saturday, September 9, 2023, in Manhattan, New York. (Photo by Barry Williams for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
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The Teamsters said nearly 10,000 Amazon workers across the country have joined the union.
The Staten Island facility in New York was Amazon’s first unionized warehouse. The employees there said the company refused to recognize the union and negotiate a contract after workers there vote to unionize in 2022.
San Bernardino, CA – October 14: Amazon warehouse workers and Teamsters Union members are protesting Amazon’s unfair labor practices and shameful response to workers’ demands for better, safer jobs with fair wages and an end to retaliation at the Amazon Air Hub on Friday, October 14. , 2022 San Bernardino, CA. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The National Labor Relations Board officially certified the union representing workers at the facility, but Amazon has appealed that ruling.
