Amazon faces multiple pickets as union targets holiday shopping rush

Amazon faced a coordinated picket effort as drivers and warehouse workers at multiple locations around the U.S. on Thursday pressed the retail giant to recognize their unions.

The campaign launched by the Teamsters union comes during the holiday-shopping rush, though Amazon says it has not affected operations.

The union had said workers would strike at seven locations in major delivery hubs: around the cities of New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco and that it had organized the "largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history."

By the afternoon, according to NPR's reporters and media photos, picketers at some of the locations numbered in the dozens. Other workers appeared to continue their work day as usual; vans and trucks arrived and left.

The strikes are part of a new push by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to get Amazon to negotiate a collective-bargaining agreement with its unionized workers for better pay, benefits, workplace safety and other conditions.

Workers demand Amazon recognize unions

Outside the Amazon facility in Alpharetta, Ga., about two dozen people in fluorescent yellow vests marched and chanted, as delivery trucks and vans continued to enter and exit the facility. Gregory Dunn, 29, who's worked as a delivery driver for about a year, said he hoped some of those drivers would join the picket line.

"I may look like a needle in a haystack, but we all fighting for the same thing," Dunn said. "I'm fighting for all my brothers sisters out here. They may not see the vision now, but they will see the vision soon."

In Queens, N.Y., over a hundred Amazon drivers and labor organizers rallied by a warehouse. A delivery driver who did not participate in the strike crossed the picket line to head out on his shift. "I'm proud of you," he shouted to his striking colleagues.

A major focus for the picketers seemed to focus on drawing more Amazon workers into the union fold. At multiple locations, strikers targeted drivers leaving to deliver packages with chants urging them to sign up to unionize after they complete their route for the day.

"Sign up after your route," picketers chanted in New York.

At an Amazon facility outside of Los Angeles, union organizers blocked exits to speak to drivers about the union effort before allowing them to go on their way.

Amazon has alleged that the strikers were "entirely" outsiders, rather than company employees or contractors.

Teamsters threaten to expand pickets

The Teamsters say they represent almost 10,000 Amazon staff and contractors at warehouses and delivery and air hubs, and is demanding that Amazon come to to the bargaining table.

The Teamsters, backed by federal labor officials, have argued that Amazon is a joint employer of third-party drivers, given the level of control the company has over their wages and working conditions.

Amazon disputes this and has asked a federal court to step in.

"For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent 'thousands of Amazon employees and drivers'. They don't," Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement.

Amazon has also accused the union of illegal and coercive tactics. The retail giant employs about 1.5 million people, excluding part-timers and contractors.

The union's pickets could spread to additional Amazon sites in the days before Christmas and Hanukkah, targeting major packing and delivery hubs.

One notable location is the Staten Island warehouse in New York, which is a key center for online-shopping in the city. Amazon workers there voted to unionize in 2022, but the company is still legally challenging that result.

The Teamsters had said they would set up picket lines at "hundreds" of Amazon facilities, encouraging non-unionized workers to protest under the U.S. labor law that protects workers' right to take collective action to advance their interests. The Teamsters union is among the most powerful in the U.S. and Canada, representing 1.3 million people.

"These workers are exercising their power," Randy Korgan, the Teamsters' national director for Amazon, told NPR. "They now realize there is a pathway to take on a corporate giant like this – that they hold the power."

The Teamsters told NPR the strike would last longer than a day, but did not say how long. Workers would be provided strike pay by the union, at a rate of $1,000 a week, the union said.

"If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon's insatiable greed," Teamsters President Sean O'Brien said in a statement. "We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it."

Amazon's spokesperson told NPR the company did not expect strikes to impact customer orders.

Amazon has refused to bargain with the union

The Teamsters had given Amazon until Dec. 15 to come to the table to bargain with unionized workers. Amazon argues its workers don't want a union, touting the pay and benefits the company already provides.

Amazon has faced multiple accusations of unfair labor practices, including for firing labor organizers. This week, a Senate investigation accused Amazon of manipulating workplace injury data to downplay the risks at its warehouses and prioritizing speed over worker safety.

The Teamsters union points out Amazon's profits had soared during the pandemic and since then. The company is now valued more than $2.3 trillion, and it reported net income of $15 billion in the latest quarter alone. It's the second largest private employer in the U.S. behind Walmart.

Amazon workers in Germany on Thursday said they planned to strike along with their U.S. counterparts, according to the German United Services Union. Amazon has in the past faced strikes in Germany and Spain around the holidays to demand better pay and work conditions.

Editor's note: Amazon is among NPR's recent financial supporters.

NPR's Ayana Archie contributed to this report. Other contributors include WABE's Marlon Hyde in Alpharetta, Georgia, Harrison Malkin in Queens, New York, and Anthony Victoria in City of Industry, California.