‘Strike’ hits Amazon during holiday season!

One of America’s most powerful labor unions is holding protests against Amazon, aiming to put pressure on the tech giant as it rolls out packages in the final stages of Christmas.

Amazon delivery drivers at seven facilities walked off the job Thursday after the company refused to negotiate with the union about a labor contract, the Teamsters union said.

Teamsters members were demonstrating at “hundreds” of other Amazon locations, according to the union, which described it as the “largest strike” in U.S. history involving the company.

The company, which employs about 800,000 people in the US, said its services would not be disrupted.

“What you see here is almost entirely outsiders – not Amazon employees or partners – and any suggestion otherwise is yet another lie from the Teamsters,” Amazon said in a statement.

It is not clear how many people were taking part in Thursday’s action.

The Teamsters union said it represents “approximately 10,000” Amazon workers, after signing up thousands of people at about 10 locations across the country, many of them in the past few months.

The organization has demanded recognition from the company and accused Amazon of illegally ignoring its duty to collectively negotiate wages and working conditions.

Sean O’Brien, general secretary of the union, said, “They have pushed workers to the limit and now they are paying the price. This strike is on them.”

“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed.”

The Teamsters is a prestigious American union with more than one million total members. It is known for winning strong contracts for members at companies like delivery giant UPS.

Most of the Teamsters’ Amazon campaigns involve drivers employed by third-party delivery firms that work with the tech giant.

Amazon denies that it is implicated as an employer in those cases, a question that is currently the subject of legal dispute. Labor officials have initially sided with the union on this issue in at least one instance.

Amazon workers at a major warehouse in Staten Island, New York, have also agreed to affiliate with the Teamsters.

Their warehouse holds the distinction as the only Amazon location in the US where a union victory has been formally ratified by labor officials.

But there has been little progress when it comes to contract negotiations since the 2022 vote. It was not among the places listed to go on strike on Thursday.

Amazon, one of the largest employers in the US, has long faced criticism over its working conditions and has been the target of activists hoping to make inroads among its workforce.

Its fierce opposition to unionization efforts has also been questioned.

But it’s not the only business facing pressure over its refusal to come to the table about contracts years after unionization efforts began.

At Starbucks, where the first coffee shop voted to form a union in 2021, workers also recently authorized a labor strike, accusing the company of delaying negotiations.