New York
CNN
—
Members of the Teamsters union went on strike at against Amazon early Thursday in a labor action set to spread to six facilities in four states coast to coast.
Amazon said that its operations will not be affected by any of the union’s actions. Although the Teamsters claim to represent 7,000 Amazon workers nationwide, that accounts for less than 1% of the company’s US workforce.
“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,” said Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien, in a statement posted on X.
The first location to be struck at 6 am ET Thursday was a facility in Queens. Then an hour later they were joined workers in Skokie, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.
“We are struggling and fighting for basic benefits and needs that are otherwise an industry standard,” said driver Luke Cianciotto speaking to reporters outside the Skokie facility just before the start of the strike there. “Many of us, we don’t have any Christmas presents under the tree this year the wages and hours we get working for Amazon simply aren’t enough to get by in today’s economy.”
At the locations on strike and set to strike Thursday the union claims to represent drivers who work for an Amazon contractor. The union claims that under a rule announced by the NLRB they can be considered to have joint employers – both the delivery service and Amazon. But Amazon and other business groups are challenging that rule.
“There are a lot of nuances here but I want to be clear, the Teamsters don’t represent any Amazon employees despite their claims to the contrary,” said Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon, in a statement. “This entire narrative is a PR play and the Teamsters’ conduct this past year, and this week is illegal.”
The union did not announce a strike at the Staten Island warehouse became the first location where employees voted to join a union in 2022, even though the union had previously announced a strike had been authorized by rank and file members there. The union did not immediately say why those members were not set to join the strike. That election was certified by the National Labor Relations Board, but Amazon continues to fight it in court.
The other locations set to be struck later Thursday morning include ones in Atlanta, San Francisco, Victorville and the City of Industry, California.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
