Amazon Teamsters In Nyc Have Voted To Authorize A Strike

Workers astatine a Staten Island, New York Amazon retention voted connected Friday to authorize a onslaught if nan institution doesn’t activity together to group dates for connection negotiations. The workers are asking Amazon to admit nan nationalist and bargain for safer moving conditions and amended wages, threatening nan anticipation of a onslaught during 1 of Amazon’s busiest times of nan year.

Teamsters wide president Sean O’Brien says successful a spot merchandise that Amazon must activity together to bargaining dates by December 15th, which passed yesterday. If Amazon hasn’t agreed, it risks facing a onslaught by nan overmuch than 5,500 workers astatine its Staten Island (JFK8) fulfillment center. Delivery drivers astatine a Queens (DBK4) last-mile proscription position too voted to authorize a strike.

“This is my 3rd picnic I’m giving to Amazon,” a worker named James said successful a video published Friday by labour nonprofit More Perfect Union. “I haven’t been astir for Thanksgiving aliases Christmas. It’s changeless speed-up for nan holidays. It’s for illustration doubly arsenic dangerous, I would say.”

A precocious published US Senate Committee study says that, based connected an investigation of Amazon’s records, nan company’s retention wounded rates were “more than 1.8 times that of different companies successful each of nan past 7 years,” according to The New York Times. Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs nan committee, said “Amazon’s executives galore times chose to put profits up of nan wellness and accusation of its workers by ignoring recommendations that would substantially trim injuries.”

In a relationship emailed to The Verge, Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards accused nan Teamsters nationalist of “intentionally” misleading claims that it represents thousands of Amazon labour and drivers.

They don’t, and this is different effort to push a mendacious narrative. The truth is that nan Teamsters personification actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon labour and third-party drivers to subordinate them, which is forbidden and is nan subject of aggregate pending unfair labour judge charges against nan union.

Hards didn’t instantly respond erstwhile we asked which charges she was referring to. Conversely, successful 2022, nan National Labor Relations Board alleged that Amazon itself “repeatedly collapsed nan norm by threatening, surveilling, and interrogating” Staten Island workers who were attempting to unionize.

Workers astatine nan Staten Island retention voted to unionize successful 2022 and joined Teamsters, 1 of nan largest US labour unions, successful June, followed by drivers moving retired of nan Queens installation successful September. Amazon hasn’t recognized those unions. As of this writing, nan Teamsters hasn’t announced an progressive onslaught connected its X account, its Facebook page, aliases its site.