For the picketers, the main focus seemed to be getting more Amazon workers into the union. In many places, strikers targeted package delivery drivers after completing their routes for the day, chanting slogans calling for union membership.
In New York, picketers chanted “Register after your route.”
At an Amazon facility outside Los Angeles, union organizers blocked the exits to talk to drivers about the union’s efforts before letting them go on their way.
Amazon argued that the strikers were “complete” outsiders, not company employees or contractors.
The commanders threaten to expand the pickets
The teams say they represent about 10,000 Amazon workers and contractors in warehouses, delivery and air centers. and requires Amazon to come to the bargaining table.
The Teamsters, backed by federal labor officials, have argued that Amazon is a joint employer of third-party drivers, given the company’s level of control over wages and working conditions.
Amazon disputes this and has asked a federal court to intervene.
“For over a year now, Teams has continued to deliberately mislead the public – claiming they represent ‘thousands of Amazon workers and drivers.’ They don’t,” Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said.
Amazon also accused the union of illegal and coercive tactics. The retail giant employs about 1.5 million people, excluding part-time workers and contractors.
The union’s picketing may spread to additional Amazon sites targeting key packing and delivery centers in the days leading up to Christmas and Hanukkah.
One notable location is the Staten Island warehouse in New York, which is the main hub for online shopping in the city. Amazon workers there voted to unionize in 2022, but the company is still legally challenging that outcome.
The Teamsters said they would set up picket lines at “hundreds” of Amazon facilities, encouraging non-union workers to protest under US labor law that protects workers’ right to collective action to advance their interests. The Teamsters union is one of the strongest in the United States and Canada, representing 1.3 million people.
“These workers are exercising their power,” Randy Korgan, the Teamsters’ national director for Amazon, told NPR. “They now understand that there is one way to take on such a corporate giant – they keep the power in their hands.”
The Teamsters told NPR that the strike would last longer than a day, but did not say how long. The union said it would pay workers $1,000 a week in strike pay.
“If your closing is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “We have given Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do the right thing by our members. They ignored it.”
An Amazon spokesperson told NPR that the company does not expect the strikes to affect customer orders.
Amazon refused to deal with the union
The teams gave Amazon until Dec. 15 to come to the table to bargain with unionized workers. Amazon claims its workers don’t want to unionize, touting the wages and benefits the company already provides.
Amazon has faced numerous accusations of unfair labor practices, including firing labor organizers. This week, a Senate investigation accused Amazon of manipulating workplace injury data and prioritizing worker safety to reduce risks in its warehouses.
The Teamsters union notes that Amazon’s profits have increased during and since the pandemic. The company is currently worth more than $2.3 trillion and reported $15 billion in net income in the last quarter alone. It is the second largest private employer in the United States after Walmart.
On Thursday, Amazon workers in Germany said they planned to strike with their U.S. counterparts, according to the German United Services Union. Amazon has previously held strikes in Germany and Spain to demand better pay and working conditions.
Editor’s note: Amazon is among NPR’s recent financial backers.
NPR’s Ayana Archie contributed to this report. Other contributors include WABE’s Marlon Hyde in Alpharetta, Georgia, Harrison Malkin in Queens, New York, and Anthony Victoria in Industry City, California.
