The Teamsters said workers will begin striking at Amazon facilities across the country Thursday morning — in what the union calls the largest strike against the online shopping giant less than a week before Christmas.
The Teamsters said the strike will begin early Thursday at several facilities, including in New York City, Atlanta, three locations in Southern California, one in San Francisco and one in Skokie, Illinois.
In addition, the Teamsters said local unions would also put up primary picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide.
Teamsters Local 63 joined union workers as they rallied in downtown Los Angeles Monday morning in support of unionizing Alabama Amazon workers.
Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
In a news release, the union calls it the “largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history” and says it comes after Amazon has refused to bargain with workers organized with the Teamsters.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien 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 to ABC News, an Amazon spokesperson said the Teamsters have illegally coerced workers to join the union.
“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers’. They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said. “The truth is that the 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 spokesperson said the company has increased the starting minimum wage for workers in fulfillment centers and transportation employees by 20% and in September increased average base wage to $22 per hour.
The announced strike by the Teamsters comes after workers at several Amazon facilities authorized the walkout.
UNITED STATES -September 9: Members of IBT Local 804 protest Amazon during the Labor Day Parade Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023 in Manhattan, New York. (Photo by Barry Williams for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
New York Daily News/NY Daily News via Getty Images
The Teamsters said nearly 10,000 Amazon workers across the country have joined the union.
The facility in New York City’s Staten Island was Amazon’s first-ever unionized warehouse. Workers there have said the company has refused to recognize the union and negotiate a contract after workers there voted to unionize in 2022.
San Bernardino, CA – October 14: Amazon warehouse workers and members of Teamsters Union protest Amazons unfair labor practices and shameful response to workers demands for better, safer jobs with fair wages and an end to retaliation at Amazon Air Hub on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022 in San Bernardino, CA. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
The National Labor Relations Board officially certified the union representing workers at the facility, but Amazon has appealed that ruling.