Teamsters union launches historic nationwide strike against Amazon: 'Paying the price'

Holiday shopping on Amazon may be impacted by a historic strike set to kick off Thursday morning.Thousands of Amazon workers nationwide organized under the Teamsters union will take to the picket lines at 6 a.m. after the company's "repeated refusal to follow the law and bargain," the union said. Amazon Teamsters at seven facilities in Skokie, Illinois; New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco and Southern California will participate in the "largest strike" against the trillion-dollar company in American history, according to the union. Workers at other facilities are prepared to join them.Though Teamsters says it represents about 10,000 people at ten Amazon facilities in the U.S., the company doesn't recognize workers' affiliation with the union.AMAZON WORKERS PLAN TO STRIKE BETWEEN BLACK FRIDAY AND CYBER MONDAYThe strike comes after the company ignored the union's Dec. 15 deadline to negotiate new contracts for higher wages, better benefits and safer work conditions."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," Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said.He continued: "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."TEAMSTERS UNION LAUNCHES NEW DIVISION TO HELP AMAZON WORKERS: 'DEFENDING WORKERS FROM UNCHECKED EXPLOITATION'Amazon Fulfillment Centers across the country will have primary picket lines set up by local unions, Teamsters said, and warehouse workers and drivers without collective bargaining agreements can legally honor them by withholding their labor."Amazon is one of the biggest, richest corporations in the world," said Gabriel Irizarry, a driver at DIL7 in Skokie, Illinois. "They talk a big game about taking care of their workers, but when it comes down to it, Amazon does not respect us and our right to negotiate for better working conditions and wages. We can’t even afford to pay our bills."GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HEREIn an X post on Wednesday night, Teamsters said its Amazon workers have run out of patience for the company and they are getting "strike ready" to win the contract they deserve."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."Fox Business has reached out to Amazon for comment.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei FOX Business Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei FOX Business