Thousands of Amazon drivers are on strike as holiday shoppers await their deliveries with only days before Christmas and Hanukkah.
Teamsters union members hit the picket lines at seven facilities in four states. But while the union said it has 7,000 workers on strike, the amount of Amazon workers overall taking part in the work stoppage is less than 1%, CNN reported.
Amazon has 1.5 million employees in warehouses and corporate offices, The Associated Press reported.
Amazon said it expected the hubs to operate as normal, The New York Times reported.
The drivers want better wages and benefits, while also saying that they are not technically employed by Amazon despite wearing company vests, driving Amazon-branded vans and only delivering Amazon packages. The striking workers are employees that Amazon has contracts with, so officials said that they don’t have to bargain with them, the Times reported.
The union said Amazon sets the working conditions so they should have to bargain with them.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said on X.com.
TEAMSTERS LAUNCH LARGEST STRIKE AGAINST AMAZON IN AMERICAN HISTORY
— Teamsters (@Teamsters) December 19, 2024
The Teamsters will launch the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history beginning at 6 a.m. EST on Thurs., Dec. 19. The nationwide action follows Amazon’s repeated refusal to follow the law and bargain with… pic.twitter.com/A06NKciCDB
“What you see here are almost entirely outsiders — not Amazon employees or partners — and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters,” Amazon said in a statement, according to the Times. “The truth is that they were unable to get enough support from our employees and partners and have brought in outsiders to come and harass and intimidate our team.”
Amazon made a net income of $39.2 billion in the first nine months of 2024, double than the same time in 2023, CNN reported. It has $450.2 billion in revenue this year and is only behind Walmart.
Strikes are being held in Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco and Skokie, Illinois, the Teamsters said. It is not known how long the strike will last.
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