Amazon workers threaten strike in New York ahead of holidays

Amazon

workers in

New York

have set a

deadline

for Sunday 15 December demanding the company agree to begin bargaining a first

union

contract with the union or else workers at the warehouse, along with other Amazon workers around the US, will

begin

an unfair labor practice strike.

Amazon workers at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island, New York,

made history

in March 2022 when they became the first warehouse at the retail giant to win a union election in the US.

A strike would be the first large-scale unfair labor practice strike at Amazon in the US.

Since the union win, Amazon has yet to begin negotiating a first contract with the union after filing objections to the election, which were

overruled

by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Amazon had also accused NLRB officials of bias and has

challenged

the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board.

“The Teamsters are done asking nicely for Amazon to stop breaking the law. Amazon must commit to come to the table and bargain a Teamsters contract with its workers – or face the consequences of its inaction,” said the Teamsters general president, Sean O’Brien, in a statement

announcing

the demand and strike threat.

Related:

Amazon workers in 20 countries to protest or strike on Black Friday

Amazon Labor Union – International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 1 (ALU-IBT Local 1), represents the workers at JFK8.

“What happens on Staten Island has an impact on Amazon workers across the country. Amazon’s steadfast refusal to come to the bargaining table sends a message that employers can flout their legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act with impunity,” stated the union in a

petition

calling on Amazon to come to the bargaining table. “While Amazon continues to engage in illegal actions against the workers of ALU-IBT Local 1, the company is also seeking to abolish the National Labor Relations Board – further demonstrating its blatant disregard for the law and the working-class.”

The Teamsters have been organizing Amazon workers around the US for over a year, including delivery drivers in

Atlanta

, Georgia, and

Illinois

, and

several delivery driver sites

in California,

the Amazon DBK4 warehouse in Queens, New York,

Amazon’s

KCVG air hub

in Kentucky, and more than 1,000 workers recently demanding union recognition from Amazon at the company’s KSBD air hub in southern California.

“Amazon workers across the country are organizing with the Teamsters because we have had enough. The disrespect we face every day from management while working long hours and doing back-breaking work is a disgrace,” said Daniel Salinas, an air hub worker at KSBD, in a statement announcing the demand. “I’ve worked at Amazon for three years, and it’s past time we made some changes at this company. That starts with a union and a voice on the job for workers like me.”

Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the strike threat.