Teamsters pronounces nationwide strike in opposition to Amazon to start Thursday

The Teamsters stated employees will start putting at Amazon amenities throughout the nation Thursday morning — in what the union calls the most important strike in opposition to the web buying big lower than every week earlier than Christmas.

The Teamsters stated the strike will start early Thursday at a number of amenities, together with in New York Metropolis, Atlanta, three places in Southern California, one in San Francisco and one in Skokie, Illinois.

As well as, the Teamsters stated native unions would additionally put up main picket traces at tons of of Amazon Achievement Facilities nationwide.

In a information launch, the union calls it the “largest strike in opposition to Amazon in U.S. historical past” and says it comes after Amazon has refused to cut price with employees organized with the Teamsters.

“In case your bundle is delayed in the course of the holidays, you’ll be able to blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” stated Teamsters Basic President Sean M. O’Brien in an announcement. “We gave Amazon a transparent deadline to return to the desk and do proper by our members. They ignored it.”

In an announcement to ABC Information, an Amazon spokesperson stated the Teamsters have illegally coerced employees to affix the union.

“For greater than a 12 months now, the Teamsters have continued to deliberately mislead the general public – claiming that they characterize ‘1000’s of Amazon workers and drivers’. They do not, and that is one other try and push a false narrative,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel stated. “The reality is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and tried to coerce Amazon workers and third-party drivers to affix them, which is against the law and is the topic of a number of pending unfair labor apply expenses in opposition to the union.”

The spokesperson stated the corporate has elevated the beginning minimal wage for employees in success facilities and transportation workers by 20% and in September elevated common base wage to $22 per hour.

The introduced strike by the Teamsters comes after employees at a number of Amazon amenities licensed the walkout.

The Teamsters stated practically 10,000 Amazon employees throughout the nation have joined the union.

The ability in New York Metropolis’s Staten Island was Amazon’s first-ever unionized warehouse. Staff there have stated the corporate has refused to acknowledge the union and negotiate a contract after employees there voted to unionize in 2022.

The Nationwide Labor Relations Board formally licensed the union representing employees on the facility, however Amazon has appealed that ruling.