Agencies
Thousands of Amazon workers walked off the job early on Thursday at the height of the holiday shopping season, in what they called the “largest strike” ever against the retailing giant over its unfair treatment of employees.
The job action targets seven Amazon facilities spaced around the United States, including New York, Atlanta and San Francisco. Workers on the pickets include Amazon employees who are affiliated with the Teamsters labor union and truckers who transport packages in and out of the facilities.
But the strike may cause barely a ripple in the company’s extensive shipping operations.
As the world’s second-largest private employer after Walmart, Amazon has long been a target for unions that say the company’s emphasis on ever-faster speed and efficiency can lead to injuries. The company says it pays industry-leading wages and uses automation designed to reduce repetitive stress.
Workers told Reuters they wanted Amazon to come to the bargaining table and recognize the pressure to meet demands that affect their health. However, the strikers represent a small number of the 800,000-plus people employed by Amazon at more than 600 U.S. fulfillment centers, delivery stations and same-day facilities.
“(Amazon) pretends there isn’t a quota system, but there’s a rigorous quota system that pushes people beyond their real physical limits in an unnatural way,” said Jordan Soreff, 63, who delivers about 300 packages a day for Amazon in the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn.
“The more you do, the more you’re expected to do.” Soreff was one of about 100 people outside the Amazon facility in Queens, including many Teamsters members who do not work for Amazon. However, the facility continued to operate, with other drivers going in to work and then leaving in trucks, assisted by police, who were stopping protesters from blocking the drivers.The Teamsters have “intentionally misled the public” and “threatened, intimidated and attempted to coerce” employees and third-party drivers to join them, an Amazon spokesperson said.
Amazon has multiple locations in many U.S. metropolitan areas, shielding it from potential disruptions. The company has said it does not expect any effect on operations during one of the busiest times of the year. In 2023, the company sold more than 500 million items from independent sellers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
“It is possible there may be some isolated incidents of delay, I just do not think there will be a material impact,” said Morningstar analyst Dan Romanoff.
