Nearly 10,000 Amazon workers who are part of the Teamsters union are striking across the U.S. ahead of the Christmas holiday, but the online retailer says it doesn't expect the strike to affect holiday gift deliveries.
Picket lines are being seen in cities like New York, Chicago and Atlanta as workers are walking off the job as the holiday rush to get packages delivered across the country heats up.
Amazon says the drivers represent a small fraction of its delivery workforce and should not slow down operations, the company told Fox 5 in New York.
Teamsters are demanding more money for workers and claim that Amazon officials have not done enough to fix workplace safety issues. Amazon has denied the claims.
In suburban Chicago, about 400 Teamster drivers work at a facility where some employees are encouraging their colleagues to join the picket lines. The main demand is better pay. Drivers claim they are living paycheck to paycheck.
Workers are also upset with how quickly they must process packages at Amazon fulfillment centers, citing a study that showed that workplace injuries at Amazon are double that of the industry standard.
Drivers are walking out of facilities in Southern California as well as San Francisco, Queens, New York, Atlanta, and outside of Chicago. The union calls it the "largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history."
Teamsters are also setting up picket lines at Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide, the organization said, adding drivers and warehouse workers who are not unionized are legally allowed to honor those picket lines.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed," Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said. "We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it."
“These greedy executives had every chance to show decency and respect for the people who make their obscene profits possible," he added. "Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the price. This strike is on them.”
If your package is delayed, the retailer says to wait 48 hours before contacting them or the seller, according to Amazon's website.
You can also find out how to track your order on the website or in the app.
This week, a report released by the majority staff for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, found that Amazon accepted employee injuries as part of the "cost of doing business."
Amazon responded by saying that the committee's chair, Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is "misleading the American public."
Teamsters’ officials also argue Amazon management did not come to the bargaining table. The company's executives maintain that the union is not representative of all of the company’s drivers.
Amazon pays a driver service which in turn, provides about 7,000 independently contracted drivers for Amazon, which says the drivers are not employed by the company. Those drivers, they say, represent less than 1 percent of its workforce.
