NEW YORK– Amazon workers are on strike outside a warehouse in Maspeth, Queens, along with other locations in the country.
Teamsters said 10,000 union members scheduled to form picket lines starting at 6 a.m. Thursday at facilities in New York, California, Georgia and Illinois. The union says it is advocating for better wages and working conditions.
Police set up a barricade outside the Queens warehouse, but picketers blocked the path of a line of trucks. The group appeared to be a mix of Teamsters union members and non-union workers.
Amazon says there will be no impact on holiday shipping
Although the strike comes less than a week before Christmas, an Amazon spokesperson stressed that its operations during the holiday season will not be affected. The 10,000 union workers going on strike represent only about 1% of the company’s hourly workforce.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien issued a provocative statement on Wednesday, saying in part: “If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed.”
The Amazon spokesperson accused Teamsters of misleading the public, adding: “The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers into joining them, which is illegal and is the subject of several ongoing investigations.” Unfair labor practice charges against the union.”
Amazon has filed a lawsuit claiming that a 2022 vote to unionize was illegal because the government had not imposed sanctions on it.
Teamsters responded with another statement, accusing the company of “misleading the American public with their false stories.”
Check back soon for the latest updates on this developing story.
