What’s New
There are eight Amazon delivery hubs affected across the U.S. by The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ strike action, which started on Thursday.
The strikes are affecting four hubs in Southern California, in Palmdale, Victorville, Industry, and San Bernardino, and one in San Francisco, one in New York City, one in Atlanta, Georgia, and one in Skokie, Illinois.
Commenting on the announcement of the strikes, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told Newsweek, “This is another attempt to push a false narrative.”
“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,” she said.
Responding to Nantel’s comments, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters told Newsweek, “Amazon is the biggest corporate PR machine there is and yet despite the false narratives they are spreading, the American public believes none of their nonsense. Thousands of Amazon Teamsters are on the picket line today and will continue.”
The map below shows the cities with affected Amazon delivery hubs.
Why It Matters
Amazon, the second-largest company on the Fortune 500 list, sees billions of orders come through at Christmas time, and the strikes could mean many people’s deliveries are delayed.
The issues highlight growing tensions between Amazon and its workers over labor rights, union recognition, and employment terms.
What To Know
Teamsters announced on Thursday that it launched the “largest strike against Amazon in American history.”
Nearly 10,000 Amazon workers joined Teamsters as “part of a growing grassroots movement to secure strong union contracts and take control of their own lives,” the union said in a press release.
“On the picket line, they are fighting for increased wages, improved benefits, and safer work conditions,” the press release said.
Teamsters said that Amazon “forced them to strike by ignoring the December 15 deadline” to negotiate a labor contract.
Nantel told Newsweek that Teamsters “don’t represent our employees,” and the word “strike” was being misused under the circumstances as a result.
Teamsters has previously said it represents some Amazon warehouse workers, according to the Associated Press.
At each delivery station, Amazon has a few hundred employees, but has rebuffed demands that the delivery drivers, which Teamsters have been focusing on, are its employees, AP reported.
What People Are Saying
Daniel Herrera, a delivery driver in Victorville, California, said in a statement: “This is Amazon’s strike, plain and simple. Amazon left us no choice but to come to the picket line. They could easily give us the treatment we deserve, but they refuse to even hear us out at the bargaining table.”
Sean M. O’Brien, Teamsters General President said in a statement: “Amazon is pushing its workers closer to the picket line by failing to show them the respect they have earned.”
Kelly Nantel, Amazon spokesperson, told Newsweek in a statement: “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’.
“What you’re seeing at these sites 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 harass and intimidate our team, which is inappropriate and dangerous. We appreciate all our team’s great work to serve their customers and communities, and thanks to them, we’re not seeing any impact to customers’ orders.”
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters told Newsweek in a statement: “Amazon threatens, intimidates, and coerces its workers by unleashing union busters to swarm facilities—spending millions of dollars to try to deprive workers of their Constitutional rights to freedom of association. Workers are fed up and fighting back.”
What’s Next
Amazon has informed Newsweek it doesn’t expect the strike action to affect its operations over the festive period, but The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has not yet said how long the strikes will carry on.
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