Amazon workers have officially begun the largest strike against the company in US history, with around 10,000 workers walking out. The strike is led by the Teamsters Union, representing thousands of workers across ten Amazon facilities around the US.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “These greedy executives had every chance to show decency and respect for the people who make their obscene profits possible. Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the price. This strike is on them.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Workers in New York City, Atlanta, and California are on the picket lines. Teamsters local unions are also putting up primary picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide. Amazon warehouse workers and drivers without collective bargaining agreements have the legal right to honor these picket lines by withholding their labor.
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“What we’re doing is historic,” said Leah Pensler, a warehouse worker at DCK6 in San Francisco. “We are fighting against a vicious union-busting campaign, and we are going to win.” Amazon is the second-largest corporation on the Fortune 500 list. However, according to Teamsters, it fails to pay its workers enough to make ends meet despite being worth $2 trillion.
Amazon stock has been unaffected by the strikes so far. At press time, AMZN is trading up 2.3% Thursday morning, and up 12% in the past 30 days.