1000’s of Amazon staff are gearing as much as strike from Thursday, days earlier than Christmas, over the tech large’s refusal to start negotiations over a contract.
Union locals are getting ready members for pickets and actions outdoors Amazon amenities across the US.
Amazon was given a deadline of 15 December to conform to open talks with staff on the firm’s JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island, which turned the primary Amazon warehouse within the US to win a union election in 2022.
“Our sisters and brothers at Amazon want our assist and help – now could be the time to indicate them what being a part of the Teamster household is all about,” wrote Teamsters native 299 in Detroit in a Fb publish, which introduced strike shifts at an Amazon facility in metro Detroit on 19 and 20 December.
The Teamsters didn’t instantly reply for remark. The publish by Teamsters native 299 was later deleted.
A flyer from Teamsters native 206 in Portland, Oregon, additionally introduced a picket at an Amazon warehouse on Thursday and Friday. “Amazon has refused to acknowledge or discount with the Teamsters at its amenities,” it stated.
Amazon staff in Staten Island; at DBK4 in Queens, New York; 4 amenities in southern California; and drivers at DIL7 in Skokie, Illinois, voted to authorize strikes over the previous week. Staff at two Amazon amenities outdoors Atlanta have threatened to strike.
In a assertion saying the 4 California facility strike authorization votes, the Teamsters normal president Sean O’Brien stated: “The company elitists who run Amazon are leaving staff with no alternative. Grasping executives are pushing hundreds of hardworking Individuals to the brink.
“Amazon rakes in extra money than anyone, they topic staff to damage and abuse at each flip, and so they illegally declare to not be the rightful employer of practically half their workforce.
“This rigged system can’t proceed. Amazon have to be held accountable to staff and customers alike. If staff are compelled onto the picket line, Amazon will likely be hanging itself.”
Amazon criticized the Teamsters because the strike authorization votes have been introduced.
Spokesperson Eileen Fingers stated in an announcement: “The reality is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and tried to coerce Amazon workers and third-party drivers to hitch them, which is prohibited and is the topic of a number of pending unfair labor follow expenses towards the union.”