Amazon Teamsters strike goes into second day
On December 20, Amazon Teamsters across the country were on day two of major strikes at Amazon facilities in New York, California, Illinois and Atlanta. Other Teamster locals in Milwaukee, Dallas and Des Moines, as well as many places, were conducting solidarity ULP (unfair labor practice) pickets.
This strike is occurring during what is called “peak season” which is the period around the holidays when the flow of packages is elevated by extreme amounts due to holiday shopping. This Amazon strike marks the largest ever against the company to date.
Over the past two years, Amazon warehouse workers and drivers have led 25 different groups of their co-workers at ten facilities across the country in attempts to form a union with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. This rapid organizing effort has been helped along the way by a National Labor Relations Board ruling acknowledging these workers as employees of Amazon rather than sub-contractors who would not be eligible to form a union under the National labor Relations Act.
Amazon refused to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the drivers and workers. At the same time as refusing to bargain with the workers, Amazon recorded nearly $15 billion of profit in the last quarter alone. The Teamsters union had given Amazon until December 15 to come to the table and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.
When Amazon did not meet that deadline, the Teamsters went on strike against the biggest company in the world. Members in facilities representing over 10,000 Amazon workers across the country went on strike against the company during the busiest time of the year, holiday rush. Their strike was to demand better pay, better working conditions, benefits and, most importantly for Amazon, to recognize their union, which would mean that Amazon would become legally required to bargain with the newly certified union.
The Teamsters have also promised to extend their strike to hurt Amazon's business even further, if their demands aren't met. Amazon continues to refuse to meet with the union and it remains to be seen if they will do so as pressure builds during the end of the holidays. The Teamsters at Amazon are taking on a Goliath and say they will not go away until their demands are met.