Amazon workers to strike at multiple facilities as union seeks labour contract
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The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced that workers at seven Amazon facilities are poised to launch a strike this Thursday morning, aiming to force the tech giant into labour talks during what is seen as a critical buying period. The union claims that with Amazon neglecting a December 15 deadline for contract negotiations, employees who have recently voted to strike are set to walk out in what the Teamsters say is the biggest-ever US strike against the firm.
Despite the assertion from Amazon of no expected disruptions to its operations, the strike could carry considerable weight. The Teamsters say they represent nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, a small portion of the 1.5 million people Amazon employs worldwide in its warehouses and corporate offices.
The union spotlights Staten Island's warehouse in New York City, home to thousands of employees who backed the Amazon Labor Union last year and have since teamed up with the Teamsters. At other locations, staffers such as delivery drivers have sided with the Teamsters, sometimes bypassing official elections.
Set to take place on Thursday, strike actions include participation from one Amazon warehouse in San Francisco and six delivery stations spread across southern California, New York City, Atlanta, Georgia, and Skokie, Illinois. Further, workers at additional facilities are "prepared to join," a move that might expand the strike's scope, indicated the union.
