Practically 10,000 Amazon employees in a number of states went on strike Thursday morning, lower than every week earlier than Christmas.
The Worldwide Brotherhood of Teamsters introduced in a news release it launched its strike at seven Amazon amenities situated in New York, Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco and Skokie, Illinois.
“In case your package deal is delayed through the holidays, you’ll be able to blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a transparent deadline to return to the desk and do proper by our members. They ignored it,” mentioned Teamsters Basic President Sean M. O’Brien.
“These grasping executives had each probability to point out decency and respect for the individuals who make their obscene earnings doable. As an alternative, they’ve pushed employees to the restrict and now they’re paying the worth. This strike is on them,” he added.
Fox Business reported the strike got here after Amazon “ignored the union’s Dec. 15 deadline to barter new contracts for greater wages, higher advantages and safer work circumstances.”
Fox Enterprise Community host Neil Cavuto requested O’Brien Thursday why the union employees selected to strike the week earlier than Christmas.
O’Brien mentioned that Amazon had ignored its calls for to fulfill and negotiate a contract for over two and a half years.
“Collective bargaining is all about leverage. That is our leverage. That is our pinch level,” he mentioned.
“Amazon doesn’t respect their employees who make them the success they’re, and the Teamsters Union goes to carry them accountable.”
Teamsters Basic President Sean M. O’Brien joins Neil Cavuto to debate the historic Amazon Teamsters strike sweeping the nation and blasts the… pic.twitter.com/7NiooFiOGB
— Teamsters (@Teamsters) December 19, 2024
Cavuto countered that Amazon staff are among the many highest-paid retail employees within the nation.
In September, the corporate introduced it was growing its complete compensation package deal for success and transportation employees to greater than $29 per hour, a rise of over $3,000 a 12 months for the common full-time worker. That determine included a mean base wage of $22 per hour, plus the price of well being care and different advantages, the corporate mentioned in a news release.
O’Brien informed Cavuto, “These individuals are not being paid a habitable wage, they’re getting minimal advantages, if any, and it’s a shame, and it shouldn’t be allowed to occur. And this firm is price $2 trillion.”
“Amazon’s bought an obligation to cut price, and they need to sit down and cut price in good religion,” he argued.
Amazon is the second-largest non-public employer within the nation, behind Walmart, with over 1.6 million staff, the Gwinett Daily Post reported in July 2022.
“NYPD’s working for Amazon” a union chief shouts as police break up the picket line that was stopping some supply vans from leaving.
Cops later put up barricades to forestall putting employees and their allies from blocking vans. @Teamsters pic.twitter.com/SWg4qSj5Vg
— Duncan Freeman (@deefreemank) December 19, 2024
CBS News reported that Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel responded to the strike in a press release saying, “For greater than a 12 months now, the Teamsters have continued to deliberately mislead the general public — claiming that they characterize ‘hundreds of Amazon staff and drivers.’ They don’t, and that is one other try and push a false narrative.”
She added, “The reality is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and tried to coerce Amazon staff and third-party drivers to affix them, which is prohibited and is the topic of a number of pending unfair labor follow prices in opposition to the union.”
This text appeared initially on The Western Journal.
