Amazon faces strike threat in US ahead of Christmas

Amazon staff within the US may go on strike forward of Christmas, after members of the Teamsters union voted to assist industrial motion.

The employees say the net retail big has refused to recognise their union and ignored a 15 December deadline to carry talks over their contract.

Amazon’s amenities in Southern California, New York and Illinois might be affected, in response to a Teamsters assertion.

“The company elitists who run Amazon are leaving staff with no alternative,” stated Teamsters Normal President Sean M O’Brien.

“Amazon should be held accountable to staff and shoppers alike. If staff are pressured onto the picket line, Amazon will likely be putting itself,” he added.

The union stated it represents 1000’s of staff at 10 Amazon amenities throughout the US.

However an Amazon spokesperson, Eileen Hards, stated the union “has continued to deliberately mislead the general public – claiming that they signify ‘1000’s of Amazon staff and drivers’. They do not.

“The Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and tried to coerce Amazon staff and third-party drivers to hitch them, which is prohibited,” she added.

Earlier this week, a congressional investigation concluded that the e-commerce big pushes its US warehouse staff to fulfil orders at speeds that would trigger excessive charges of harm.

The investigation led by Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders additionally stated the corporate had refused to introduce modifications to enhance security due to issues about its income.

Amazon stated the report was “fallacious on the details”, and featured “selective, outdated info that lacks context and is not grounded in actuality”.

The corporate, which employs roughly 800,000 individuals within the US, has confronted accusations about unsafe situations at its warehouses for years.

These issues ramped up through the Covid pandemic, when e-commerce exploded, resulting in protests by its staff all over the world.

Amid the controversy, founder Jeff Bezos stated the corporate wanted to do higher by its staff.

Senator Sanders, who is understood for his pro-worker stance, launched an investigation into Amazon’s practices in June 2023. Senate staffers performed 135 interviews and reviewed greater than 1,000 paperwork.

Their evaluation of public data discovered that warehouses operated by Amazon recorded over 30% extra accidents than the warehousing trade common in 2023.