With Christmas less than a week away, Amazon workers at seven U.S. facilities walked off the job early on Thursday during the holiday shopping rush as workers protest what they say is the retail giant’s unfair treatment of its employees.
Warehouse workers in cities including New York, Atlanta and San Francisco were taking part in what Teamsters officials called the largest-ever strike against Amazon, but it’s one that may cause barely a ripple in the company’s extensive shipping operations.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters had given Amazon a deadline of Dec. 15 to begin negotiations — but that day passed without talks. Teamsters says it represents 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, but the e-commerce giant disputes this, alleging there have been no union elections or collective bargaining for the locations.
The strike is a challenge to Amazon’s operations as it races to fulfil orders during its busiest season of the year, although union-represented facilities represent only about one per cent of Amazon’s hourly workforce. In the New York City area, for example, the company has multiple warehouses and smaller delivery depots.
Why are workers on strike?
The striking workers are fighting for higher wages, better benefits, and safer work conditions. Workers have said Amazon’s emphasis on ever greater speed and efficiency can lead to injuries, while the company has said it pays industry-leading wages and regularly introduces automation designed to cut down on repetitive stress.
Workers told Reuters they want Amazon to come to the bargaining table and recognize the pressure to meet demands that affect their health.
“[Amazon] pretends there isn’t a quota system, but there’s a rigorous quota system that pushes people beyond their real physical limits in an unnatural way,” said Jordan Soreff, 63, who delivers about 300 packages a day for Amazon in the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. “The more you do, the more you’re expected to do.”
Soreff was one of about 100 people outside the Amazon facility in Queens, N.Y., including many Teamsters members who do not work for Amazon. However, the facility was continuing to operate, with other drivers going in to work and then leaving in trucks, assisted by police, who were stopping protesters from blocking the drivers.
The Teamsters have “intentionally misled the public” and “threatened, intimidated and attempted to coerce” employees and third-party drivers to join them, an Amazon spokesperson said.
In San Francisco, there were at least three dozen protesters at the Amazon facility, with a Teamsters organizer estimating that between 15 and 20 were warehouse employees.
Janeé Roberts, a 30-year-old San Francisco resident who has worked at the facility for almost two years, said her main reason for supporting the strike was safety conditions.
“Not only do I look at my co-workers and see how dog-tired [they are] and [the] wear and tear it takes on their bodies, but we’re not even given proper benefits as part-timers,” Roberts said while holding a sign outside the gates.
Where are the strikes happening?
The strikes are taking place at three delivery hubs in Southern California, and one each in San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, Georgia, and Skokie, Illinois, according to the union’s announcement.
The union has said workers in more locations were prepared to join the fight.
A company spokesperson said Thursday the strikers were “almost entirely outsiders, not Amazon employees or partners, and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters.”
How long will the strike last?
The union hasn’t said how many workers are participating in the strike, nor how long it will go on.
Vinnie Perrone, the president of a local Teamsters union in metro New York, said Thursday that the walkout would continue “as long as it takes.”
Strike unlikely to cripple Amazon’s operations
The strikers represent a small number of the 800,000-plus people employed by Amazon at more than 600 U.S. fulfilment centres, delivery stations and same-day facilities.
Amazon has multiple locations in many U.S. metropolitan areas, shielding it from potential disruptions. The company has said it does not expect any effect on operations during one of the busiest times of the year. In 2023, the company sold more than 500 million items from independent sellers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
“It is possible there may be some isolated incidents of delay, I just do not think there will be a material impact,” Morningstar analyst Dan Romanoff told Reuters.
Amazon says it doesn’t expect the strike to affect its operations, but a walkout — especially one that lasts many days — could delay shipments in some metro areas.
An Amazon spokesperson said Thursday that the company intentionally builds its sites close to where customers are, schedules shipping windows and works with other large carriers, such as UPS, to deliver products.
“We believe in the strength of our network and plan for contingencies to minimize potential operational impact or costs,” the spokesperson said.
Will the strike affect Canadians?
No.
CBC News reached out to Amazon to ask whether the strike would impact its Canadian operations.
“There have been no strikes in Canada and no operational impacts,” a spokesperson said.