OAN Staff James Meyers
8:26 AM – Thursday, December 19, 2024
Amazon warehouse workers walked off the job at several facilities across the U.S. early Thursday morning.
The Teamsters union called it the largest strike against Amazon just less than a week before Christmas. The strike impacted seven warehouses including one in New York City, one in Atlanta, three in Southern California, one in San Francisco and one in Skokie, Illinois.
Additionally, the Teamsters said it also planned to put up primary picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Teamsters gave Amazon until December 15th to begin new negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement, which they ignored, according to Teamsters.
However, Amazon has accused the Teamsters of illegally forcing workers to join the union. Teamsters claimed it represents 10,000 Amazon workers nationwide.
Currently, Amazon employs around 1.5 million people in its warehouses and corporate offices.
“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally misled 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.”
Amazon said it has increased the starting minimum wage for its drivers and workers in fulfillment centers by 20%.
Currently, Amazon said team members are already offered competitive pay, immediate health benefits, a 401k match and career growth opportunities, adding that the company’s average base wage was increased to $22 per hour in September.
In a post on X on Wednesday night, Teamsters said its Amazon workers have run out of patience for the company and they are getting “strike ready” to win the contract they deserve.
“What we’re doing is historic,” said Leah Pensler, a warehouse worker at DCK6 in San Francisco. “We are fighting against a vicious union-busting campaign, and we are going to win.”
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