A few days before the Christmas holidays, a strike began on Thursday at several US and German locations of the online mail order company Amazon. The strikers’ main demand is wage increases.
In the US, the strike started at 11:00 GMT on Thursday after Amazon management refused to negotiate with the Amazon Labor Union (ALU). The ALU joined the influential Teamsters (IBT) union in June.
According to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, seven US locations are affected, including New York, Atlanta (Georgia), California and Illinois. In New York, around 100 people gathered in front of Amazon’s main warehouse in the borough of Queens, the police told the AFP news agency. One person was arrested without any reasons being given.
Although operations continued, the rally “significantly slowed” vehicle traffic, Tony Rosciglione, chief financial officer of the local Teamsters branch, told AFP. He estimated that about 300 people took part in the picket line.
Both Amazon employees who are members of the ALU and truck drivers who work as subcontractors for the company are taking part in the campaign. According to IBT estimates, around 10,000 employees of the shipping giant have now joined the union. The ALU and the Teamsters have been calling for Amazon to begin negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement for several months, something the company has so far refused to do.
Ultimatum remained unanswered
The union decided to strike after an ultimatum of December 15 remained unanswered. When contacted by AFP, the Teamsters did not say how long the movement might last. “If your package is late during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed,” said IBT President Sean O’Brien.
“We have given Amazon a clear deadline to come to the negotiating table and do what is right for our members. They ignored them,” the union leader added.
Since its founding, Amazon has consistently resisted the formation of unions within the company. It wasn’t until spring 2022 that employees at a sorting center in New York’s Staten Island district voted to establish an ALU branch. Amazon tried to have that vote invalidated, but the state labor relations regulator (NLRB) dismissed the case in August.
No additional ALU branches have been officially established in other U.S. locations, but the union says it has members in several regions.
“For over a year, the Teamsters have attempted to mislead the public by claiming to represent thousands of Amazon employees and drivers when they do not,” a company spokeswoman told several American media outlets. She described the communication surrounding the strike as “a new attempt to sell a false story.” Amazon did not initially respond to an inquiry from AFP.
Work stoppage in Germany
There were also work stoppages in Germany on Thursday. Around 450 of the 1,500 employees at an Amazon logistics center in Werne (Westphalia) took part in the strike at the call of the Verdi union to advocate for “fair working conditions”. The union is planning work stoppages at eight additional locations by the end of the year and hopes to mobilize a total of around 16,000 employees.
Verdi demands that Amazon employees be paid in accordance with the retail and mail order collective agreement – a demand that the company rejects. Despite this attitude, according to Verdi, the movement has already achieved wage increases and improvements in working conditions over the past eleven years. (AFP)