Thousands of Amazon employees are set to strike on Thursday morning, targeting the company during the critical final days of the holiday season. The walkout comes in response to Amazon’s refusal to negotiate union contracts, union officials say, and could disrupt operations at a pivotal time for the retail giant.
The strike will affect key facilities in New York City, Skokie (Illinois), Atlanta, San Francisco, and southern California. While unionized warehouses account for only about 1% of Amazon’s hourly workforce, the action is expected to have a significant impact. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing approximately 10,000 Amazon workers at 10 facilities nationwide, confirmed that employees from seven sites will participate in the strike.
Additionally, Teamsters local unions plan to stage picket lines outside hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers across the country.
Union leaders said the strike was authorized after Amazon failed to meet a Sunday deadline to begin contract negotiations.
“Amazon clearly has developed a strategy of ignoring their workers’ rights to collectively organize and negotiate,” said Benjamin Sachs, a labor expert from Harvard Law School. He noted that Amazon has yet to recognize the union formed at its Staten Island warehouse in 2022.
Amazon has consistently opposed unionization efforts, advocating for direct relationships with its employees. The company has challenged unionization drives, filing objections with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) over alleged irregularities in the Staten Island election and even questioning the NLRB’s constitutionality in a federal lawsuit.
This strike underscores ongoing tensions between Amazon and its workers over union rights, adding another layer of complexity during the busiest time of the year for the e-commerce giant.