Amazon Teamsters in Atlanta join historic strike for union recognition, against corporate greed
Atlanta, GA – Today, December 19, Amazon workers in Atlanta joined the largest strike against the company in U.S. history. Called by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the strike calls for Amazon to recognize the workers’ union and agree to higher wages, safer conditions, respect and dignity on the job as part of a union contract.
Members of Teamsters Local 728 arrived outside Amazon’s ATL2 facility in Stone Mountain and set up the picket line at around 6 a.m. Shortly after, at the DGT8 facility in Alpharetta, another picket line went up with Teamsters from Amazon and other companies marching and leading chants. These Atlanta picket lines are part of a nationwide action by nearly 10,000 Teamsters at Amazon, sparked by the corporation’s refusal to recognize the Teamsters union and bargain in good faith.
The strike disrupts holiday operations at the $2 trillion corporation, whose workers often struggle to pay bills due to low wages and poor working conditions. “Amazon’s greed pushed us here,” said Gregory Dunn, an Amazon Teamster in Atlanta. “If we don’t fight Amazon’s greed now, they’ll think they can get away with anything.”
The Teamsters were joined on the picket lines by members of other Atlanta unions, including International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) and by community activists. Chants of, “Union-busting is disgusting,” and “Worker power” rang through the morning traffic, with many workers stopping in the street to take leaflets and verbalize their support.
Most significantly, the strike line drew the solidarity of UPS Teamsters, who arrived to deliver packages at the Amazon facilities and promptly turned around, honking to show their support for their fellow union members. UPS Teamsters have a clause in their contract that allows them to refuse to cross a picket line, and those package drivers from Local 728 put their solidarity into practice by not servicing the struck facilities.