New York
CNN
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Amazon drivers went on strike in 4 states throughout the nation with lower than every week to go earlier than Christmas – however the firm is saying it’s not going to have an effect on your vacation deliveries.
Members of the Teamsters union are putting at seven amenities throughout 4 states, and despite the fact that the Teamsters declare to symbolize 7,000 Amazon employees nationwide, that accounts for lower than 1% of the corporate’s US workforce.
Beyond the standard labor complaints about wages and advantages, nevertheless, is that Amazon disputes that they’re Amazon workers in any respect, regardless of carrying Amazon vests, driving Amazon vans, and solely delivering Amazon packages.
“If your bundle is delayed in the course of the holidays, you possibly can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a transparent deadline to come back to the desk and do proper by our members. They ignored it,” mentioned Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien, in an announcement posted on X.
“We are struggling and combating for primary advantages and wishes which are in any other case an trade normal,” mentioned driver Luke Cianciotto chatting with reporters outdoors the Skokie facility simply earlier than the beginning of the strike there. “Many of us, we don’t have any Christmas presents underneath the tree this 12 months. The wages and hours we get working for Amazon merely aren’t sufficient to get by in at present’s financial system.”
Beyond saying that its shipments to clients is not going to be affected, Amazon’s assertion emphasised its argument that the Teamsters don’t symbolize anybody on the Amazon payroll. The National Labor Relations Board has solely licensed one group of Amazon employees as being within the union, and that location, on Staten Island, New York, will not be but on strike, regardless of authorizing one.
“There are loads of nuances right here however I need to be clear, the Teamsters don’t symbolize any Amazon workers regardless of their claims on the contrary,” mentioned Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon, in an announcement. “This whole narrative is a PR play and the Teamsters’ conduct this previous 12 months, and this week is unlawful.”
And Amazon claimed that a lot of these on picket strains across the nation had been Teamsters who got here from different industries altogether.
“What you see listed here are nearly totally outsiders – not Amazon workers or companions – and the suggestion in any other case is simply one other lie from the Teamsters,” mentioned Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hand. “The fact is that they had been unable to get sufficient assist from our workers and companions and have introduced in outsiders to come back and harass and intimidate our workforce, which is inappropriate and harmful. We respect all our workforce’s nice work to serve their clients and communities, and are persevering with to deal with getting clients their vacation orders.”
CNN confirmed that some folks on the picket strains had been Teamsters from different industries. But having non-strikers on a picket line will not be uncommon throughout a strike and never a essentially an indication of efforts at intimidation.
The first location to be struck at 6 am ET Thursday was a facility in Queens. Then, an hour later, they had been joined by employees in Skokie, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. At 9 am ET the strike expanded to places in Atlanta, San Francisco, Victorville and the City of Industry, California.
The union has pointed to Amazon’s earnings, which have soared, particularly lately. Amazon reported a web earnings of $39.2 billion within the first 9 months of this 12 months, greater than double for a similar interval of 2023, with income of $450.2 billion thus far this 12 months, making it the world’s second largest non-public firm behind solely Walmart when it comes to income.
“It’s not going to be packages over folks, revenue over folks. It’s folks over packages, folks over earnings,” mentioned Ash’shura Brooks, one other driver in Skokie talking outdoors the power.
It’s not clear how lengthy the strike will final. Shorter strikes have grown in reputation lately, with sometimes nice success, just like the 2023 strike at healthcare big Kaiser Permanente. That’s against the extra conventional, open-ended strikes which go on till a brand new labor deal is reached, as was the case with the latest strikes at Boeing, Big Three automakers, and Hollywood studios.
Since the Teamsters say its members are on strike as Amazon refuses to even negotiate, and since Amazon mentioned it doesn’t acknowledge the union, an open-ended strike appears unlikely. All a union spokesperson mentioned Thursday is that the strike would final greater than someday.
But by putting the week earlier than Christmas and Hanukkah, the Teamsters hope to use most strain to Amazon, and maybe persuade a few of its clients to buy elsewhere for last-minute items.
At the places on strike and set to strike Thursday, the union claims to symbolize drivers who work for an Amazon contractor. The union claims that underneath a rule introduced by the NLRB they are often thought-about to have joint employers — each the supply service and Amazon. But Amazon and different enterprise teams are difficult that rule.
Brooks and Cianciotto mocked the concept they’re not Amazon workers, despite the fact that their fast employer is a third-party contractor. Brooks referred to as the declare by the corporate “heartbreaking… for Amazon to inform us we’re not Amazon drivers, after we put on Amazon vests and ship in Amazon vans.”
Cianciotto mentioned using third get together contractors is solely a manner for Amazon to shed accountability to barter with the drivers.
“These third get together contractors don’t exist with out Amazon,” he mentioned.
But the joint employer rule that the union is relying on to attempt to get a greater deal for drivers is susceptible to going away as soon as President-elect Trump names a extra business-friendly NLRB General Counsel and board members early subsequent 12 months.
But it’s not simply drivers working for unbiased contractors which Amazon refuses to acknowledge as Teamsters members. Amazon exhibits no indication it’s keen to achieve a cope with the Teamsters and even acknowledges that the union speaks for any of its employees, regardless of the union declaring that workers at quite a few Amazon amenities have signed playing cards asking to affix.
Unions usually win illustration of employees by submitting to carry elections overseen by the NLRB. While voluntary recognition of a union by an employer is allowed underneath labor legislation, it’s comparatively uncommon and appears nearly not possible on this case given Amazon’s acknowledged positions. But relatively than search votes to win illustration acknowledged by the NLRB, the union is demanding that Amazon acknowledge employees who’ve signed playing cards asking to affix the union.
An upstart union, the Amazon Labor Union received such a vote at Amazon’s Staten Island facility in April 2022. And that vote was licensed by the NLRB. But regardless of repeated setbacks in court docket, Amazon continues to combat the outcomes of that election in additional court docket appeals.
Other union illustration votes have failed at different Amazon amenities earlier than and since then. The ALU members voted in June to affiliate with the Teamsters, which is likely one of the nation’s largest and strongest unions with 1.3 million members.
“Our workers have a alternative of whether or not or to not be part of a union. They all the time have,” mentioned Amazon’s Nantel. “We favor alternatives for every individual to be revered and valued as a person and to have their distinctive voice heard by working straight with our workforce.” Amazon is on document saying it believes the 2022 election in Staten Island was not a stage taking part in discipline and that the outcomes licensed by the NLRB don’t precisely mirror the opinion of the employees on the facility.
The union didn’t announce a strike on the Staten Island warehouse, despite the fact that the union had beforehand introduced a strike had been approved by rank-and-file members there. The union didn’t instantly say why these members weren’t set to affix the strike.
This is story has been up to date with further reporting and context.
