Thousands more NYC Amazon workers walk off job to join largest strike in company history

A second Amazon facility in New York City saw workers walk off the job and join the growing strike to pressure the e-commerce company to meet at the bargaining table and reach an eventual labor agreement.

Tens of thousands of workers have gone on strike in recent days during what is considered to be one of the busiest online shopping and shipping seasons of the year.

At midnight, the union representing Staten Island’s JFK8 warehouse declared its members on strike and adding another 5,500 workers to expanding labor movement. The other facilities on strike include facilities in Queens, New York, Atlanta, Georgia, Skokie, Illinois, San Francisco, and three other locations in Southern California.

Striking workers on Staten Island received a boost of support on Saturday from the New York attorney general.

“Amazon workers deserve higher wages and safe working conditions,” Attorney General Letitia James wrote on X. “I was proud to stand with the @amazonlabor workers on strike on Staten Island today to fight for their rights.”

Amazon workers deserve higher wages and safe working conditions.

I was proud to stand with the @amazonlabor workers on strike on Staten Island today to fight for their rights. pic.twitter.com/mUTD3rLk4Z

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) December 21, 2024

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters say the workers, who authorized strikes in the past few days, are joining the picket line after Amazon ignored a Dec. 15 deadline the union set for contract negotiations. Amazon says it doesn’t expect an impact on its operations during what the union calls the largest strike against the company in U.S. history.

The Teamsters say they represent nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, a small portion of the 1.5 million people Amazon employs in its warehouses and corporate offices.

The union hasn’t said how many workers are participating in the strike, nor how long it will go on. Vinnie Perrone, the president of a local Teamsters union in metro New York, said Thursday that the walkout would continue “as long as it takes.”

The union, which claims to represent 10,000 Amazon workers at 10 facilities, said workers in more locations were prepared to join the fight.

The Teamsters says its local unions are also putting up picket lines at other Amazon warehouses.

A company spokesperson said Thursday the strikers were “almost entirely outsiders, not Amazon employees or partners, and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters.”

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What do the workers want?

The striking workers are fighting for higher wages, better benefits, and safer work conditions.

The Teamsters have tried to get Amazon to come to the negotiating table since last year, when the labor organization first said it had unionized a group of delivery drivers in California who work for a contractor. Amazon — which denies it employs the workers — refused, leading the union to file unfair labor charges against the company at the National Labor Relations Board.

In August, prosecutors at the federal labor agency classified Amazon as a “joint employer” of subcontracted drivers. In September, the company boosted hourly pay for the drivers amid the growing pressure.

Amazon warehouse workers who voted to union in the New York City borough of Staten Island also have tried to get the company to engage in contract negotiations.

The National Labor Relations Board certified the Amazon Labor Union election, but the company objected to the representation vote and refused to bargain. In the process, Amazon also filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the labor board, which it accused of tainting the vote.

Some organizers involved with the unionization effort there have long believed Amazon would not come to the negotiating table unless workers went on strike.

What about holiday deliveries?

Amazon says it doesn’t expect the strike to impact its operations, but a walkout — especially one that lasts many days — could delay shipments in some metro areas.

An Amazon spokesperson said Thursday that the company intentionally builds its sites close to where customers are, schedules shipping windows and works with other large carriers, such as UPS, to deliver products.

“We believe in the strength of our network and plan for contingencies to minimize potential operational impact or costs,” the spokesperson said.