Amazon employees are participating in the largest strike in union history, according to CNN.
The strike begins just days before Christmas and the start of Hanukkah. Nearly 10,000 Amazon workers have joined the Teamsters to advocate for safer working conditions, higher wages, and improved benefits, causing uncertainty about the delivery of many customers’ packages.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” Sean O’Brien, the Teamsters president, said in a statement. “We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it.”
Three of the seven hubs are in Southern California, and the other four are in Queens; Atlanta; San Francisco; and Skokie, Ill., near Chicago.
In a statement shared by CNN, an Amazon spokesperson accused the Teamsters of unlawfully coercing employees to join their cause. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel, said, “The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union.”
The spokesperson noted that “over the last six years,” Amazon has raised the starting minimum wage for workers in fulfillment centers and transportation workers in the U.S. by 20%. Additionally, in September, the company raised the average base wage to $22 per hour, which amounts to “$29 when factoring in benefits.”
Though Amazon says it does not expect the strike to impact its operations, a walkout — especially one that lasts many days — could delay shipments in some metro areas.
