Atlanta Teamsters and community rally at picket line with striking Amazon workers
Atlanta, GA – On February 19, about 40 workers and community members gathered outside of Amazon’s ATL6 Sortation Center in Atlanta, Georgia, to support the ongoing strike by Amazon drivers and dispatchers in Palmdale, California.
The picket targeted the two main entrances to the facility to draw the attention of the workers at ATL6. The unfair labor practice strike began June 2023, expanding its picket lines to about a dozen cities, including Atlanta.
Participants kept the energy high during the event, holding signs and chanting, “Jeff Bezos, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side!”
Picketers were met with positivity from Amazon drivers, dispatchers and other workers. Several cars and trucks honked their horns as they drove by the picketers, whether on their way into work or back home.
“To me, this is about showing solidarity with my Teamster sisters and brothers at Amazon,” said Bill Aiman, a UPS Teamster from Local 728 in Atlanta. “Last year during our contract battle with UPS, we held practice pickets to show the company we were strike-ready. Here, the strike is ongoing, and events like this show the workers and Amazon management what union solidarity looks like.”
In April 2023, 84 workers from Palmdale, California became members of Teamsters Local 396 and successfully negotiated a contract with Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner, Battle-Tested Strategies (BTS). However, Amazon, which has total control over BTS and the employment conditions of its workers, has refused to recognize or honor this contract.
Amazon drivers and dispatchers began their unfair labor practice strike at an Amazon delivery station in Palmdale on June 24, 2023. Quickly they expanded their lines and picketed ten more warehouses during their strike, including facilities in California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan and Georgia.
The driving cause behind the strike, however, were the numerous flagrant violations of federal labor law committed by Amazon. Historically anti-union, the monopoly giant has continuously had aggressive, targeted retaliation and harassment directed against workers involved in the organizing campaign, including illegal terminations.
According to a Teamster press release, “The growing strike will continue until Amazon reinstates the unlawfully terminated Palmdale employees, recognizes the Teamsters, respects the contract negotiated by the workers, and bargains with the Teamsters union to address low pay and dangerous working conditions.”