Amazon workers strike at seven US facilities ahead of Christmas rush by Reuters

Written by Ariana McLemore, Nathan Frandino, and Greg Bensinger

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Amazon.com workers at seven U.S. facilities went on strike early Thursday during the holiday shopping rush as workers protested what they say is unfair treatment by the retail giant of its employees.

Warehouse workers in cities including New York, Atlanta and San Francisco were participating in what Teamsters officials called the largest strike ever against Amazon (NASDAQ:) — but it may barely cause a ripple in the company’s widespread shipping operations.

As the world’s second-largest private employer after Walmart (NYSE:), Amazon has long been a target of unions that say the company’s focus on ever-faster speed and efficiency could lead to injuries. The company says it pays industry-leading wages and uses automation designed to reduce repetitive stress.

Amazon shares rose 1.8% Thursday afternoon.

The workers told Reuters they want Amazon to come to the negotiating table and acknowledge the pressure to meet demands that affect their health. However, the strikers represent a small number of the more than 800,000 people who work for Amazon at more than 600 fulfillment centers, delivery stations and same-day facilities in the United States.

“Amazon pretends there is no quota system, but there is a strict quota system that pushes people beyond their real physical limits in an unnatural way,” said Jordan Soref, 63, who delivers about 300 packages a day for Amazon in the United States. New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. “The more you do, the more you are expected to do.”

Soref was one of about 100 people outside the Amazon facility in Queens, including several Teamsters members who do not work for Amazon. However, the facility continued to operate, with other drivers going to work and then leaving in trucks, with the help of police, who were preventing protesters from obstructing the drivers.

An Amazon spokesperson said the Teamsters “intentionally misled the public” and “threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce” employees and third-party drivers to join them.

Amazon has multiple locations in several U.S. metropolitan areas, protecting it from potential disruption. The company said it does not expect any impact on operations during one of the busiest times of the year. In 2023, the company sold more than 500 million products from independent sellers on Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday.

“There will likely be some isolated incidents of delay, but I don’t think there will be a material impact,” Morningstar analyst Dan Romanoff said.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced a $2.1 billion investment to boost wages for its U.S. delivery and transportation employees, increasing employees’ base wages by at least $1.50 to about $22 per hour.

The international Muslim Brotherhood had given Amazon a deadline of December 15 to begin negotiations, but that day passed without talks. The Teamsters say they represent 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, but the e-commerce giant disputes that, saying there were no elections or bargaining orders over the locations.

Resistance to unions

The pace of labor action in various service industries has accelerated after a period in which workers at manufacturers in the automobile, aerospace and railway industries received significant concessions from their employers. US port workers are scheduled to strike in mid-January if contract talks are not resolved.

A union representing more than 10,000 Starbucks (NASDAQ:) baristas allowed a potential strike earlier this week, after strikes roiled companies including plane maker Boeing (NYSE:) earlier this year.

Amazon has not yet recognized its first-ever unionization voting facility on Staten Island, and has filed objections with the National Labor Relations Board over the 2022 union vote. In a federal lawsuit filed in September, Amazon challenged the constitutionality of the NLRB, which It was formed during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In San Francisco, there were at least three dozen protesters at an Amazon facility, and one Teamsters organizer estimated that between 15 and 20 were warehouse employees.

Janie Roberts, a 30-year-old San Francisco resident who has worked at the facility for about two years, said the main reason to support the strike is safety conditions.

“Not only do I look at my co-workers and see how tired the dogs are and how worn out their bodies are, but we don’t even get the proper benefits as part-time employees,” Roberts said as he held a sign outside the gates.

Amazon, whose businesses include the Whole Foods grocery chain, will face other union actions in the coming months. Workers at Philadelphia Whole Foods in November filed for a union election, the first since Amazon acquired the company in 2017.

The German United Services Union also announced strikes at Amazon warehouses across the country in solidarity with the Teamsters, starting Thursday.