A Holiday Strike at Amazon?

Amazon workers at ten warehouses will strike if the company does not begin bargaining by Sunday.

Shift change at Amazon warehouse in Moreno Valley, Californa, in 2022. Photos: Jessica Burbank

A nationwide strike is set to take place at ten Amazon warehouses across the country if Amazon does not begin negotiating with unionized workers by December 15, according to Chris Smalls, the first president of the Amazon Labor Union.

The union has spent years working to turn its victory in a Staten Island election into a negotiated contract, and Amazon has spent just as long trying to destroy the fledgling union. In the meantime, ALU has become part of the Teamsters. The combined union’s new holiday strategy is ambitious but straightforward: get Amazon to negotiate for workers at all unionized facilities, all at once, across the country. “This is a moment for workers in America, not just those that are poised to strike at Amazon,” said Smalls told Drop Site in a text message.

A strike during the holiday season, the busiest time of year for Amazon, would hit them where it hurts. The scale of the strike would be unprecedented, including the major hubs of New York and San Bernadino, California.

Amazon now has a workforce of over 700,000, making it the largest employer of warehouse workers in the nation. If a contract is won at these initial 20 bargaining units, it has the potential to impact working conditions for thousands of workers, and inspire union organizing efforts at Amazon facilities across the country.

For Amazon workers who voted to unionize their warehouses in March of 2022, this has been a long time coming. “Thousands of Amazon workers courageously cast their ballots to form a union at JFK8 in Staten Island,” Smalls said in a text. “We shocked the world, we had won against a corporate giant and hoped that step would propel us forward to help create a better workplace.” For years, Amazon stalled on recognizing the union, and has not yet met union representatives at the negotiating table.

Smalls said, “I’m excited to see workers take control, take the next step and move even further down the path to victory when they exercise their right to strike.” He continued, “We celebrated as we inspired thousands of others to hope for the same.”

The December 15th deadline, set by the Teamsters, has been sent to Amazon directly from the union. Smalls told Drop Site News, “The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has issued a deadline to Amazon to bargain with more than 20 bargaining units, including JFK8.”

The worker-led and worker-organized Amazon Labor Union (ALU) has grown as a result of the partnership with the Teamsters. A strike of this scale requires extensive resources and large-scale organizing. Smalls reflected on the decision to affiliate with an international union: “Now, thousands of other workers at Amazon are taking direct action with the Teamsters proving that our affiliation under the Teamsters banner was a smart move.”

Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien hinted at the potential strike in a post on Twitter: “Amazon is pushing its workers closer to the picket line by failing to show them the respect they have earned.” O’Brien continued, “We’ve been clear: Amazon has until December 15 to come to the table and bargain for a contract. If these white-collar criminals want to keep breaking the law, they better get ready for a fight.”

The end-goal for Amazon workers is a contract, Smalls said, “We all know the working conditions at Amazon and we all know only a Teamster contract is going to hold them accountable.”

Amazon warehouse workers have the highest injury rate of all warehouse workers, the latest report on injuries shows 51% of workers at the company for more than three years have been injured. Of those injured, 69% have had to take unpaid time off due to pain or exhaustion from working at the company in the past month.

Smalls spoke to the issue of unsafe working conditions. “It’s time for Amazon to be held accountable for their actions. It’s time the workers [to] take the first step in withholding their labor so that American Consumers can see that their goods that they have ordered come at [a] price, a heavy price, our backs, our knees, feet and minds while honoring a picket line.”

“Join me, join them, join the Teamsters,” Smalls said.