Shopping
Amazon Workers Strike Across U.S. Warehouses Amid Holiday Shopping Dash
Topline
Amazon’s unionized workers across multiple U.S. warehouses are set to go on strike Thursday morning after failed contract bargaining efforts, likely impacting the e-commerce giant’s operations during the holiday shopping season.
The strike is set impact operations across at least seven Amazon warehouses across the country.
Key Facts
In an announcement on Wednesday night, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said the strike will begin at 6 a.m. EST on Thursday and unionized workers from seven Amazon warehouses will join the picket line.
The strikes will impact Amazon warehouses in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Skokie, Illinois and three other facilities in Southern California.
The Teamsters said Amazon was given a “clear deadline” to come to the negotiating table and discuss “better working conditions and wages” for the unionized workers, but the company “ignored it.”
The Teamsters say they represent around 10,000 Amazon workers, which accounts for 1% of the 1 million full and part-time workers employed by the company in the U.S.
The company told Forbes in an emailed statement that it had increased the starting minimum wage for its warehouse and transportation employees in the U.S. by 20% over the past six years to an average base wage of $22.
The company also said it does not expect the strike to impact its operations.
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Crucial Quote
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed…These greedy executives had every chance to show decency and respect for the people who make their obscene profits possible. Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the price. This strike is on them,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said.
Chief Critic
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel criticized the Teamsters in a statement shared with Forbes, and accused the group of threatening, intimidating, and attempting to coerce Amazon employees to join them. The statement added: “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.”
Further Reading
Teamsters say Amazon workers will strike at multiple facilities as union seeks labor contract (Associated Press)
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