mazon workers from seven U.S. facilities are striking at seven facilities, reported Reuters. The workers from those facilities walked out of theri jobs early this Thursday,
the reasoning staging behind the alleged unfair treatment from Amazon during the holiday rush.
The strike is happening across the country in different cities, including New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco. As Teamsters reported, warehouse workers are part of one of the biggest strikes against Amazon. However, the strike might actually trigger a ripple in the company’s extensive shipping operations.
Being a company so big, it has always been the target of unions that say that the company can endanger theri workers, especially during the shopping rush. However, the company says that they are using automation processes that have the means of reducing repetitive stress and also offering industry-leading wages for theri employees.
Reuters also reported that Amazon shares were up to 1.8% on Thursday afternoon. Even more so, workers told Reuters that they want Amazon to come and recognize that they ask employees to meet demands that eventually affect their health. This strike also represents only a small number compared to the 800,000 employees that are working at Amazon for the more than 600 facilities they have across the U.S.
Jordan Soreff, an Amazon employee who delivers approximately 300 packages daily in New York City in Queens and Brooklyn said “(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,” and “The more you do, the more you’re expected to do.”.
Amazon’s response to the strike is that Teamsters have “intentionally misled the public" and "threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce” employees and other third-party drivers in order to join them.
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It is also worth mentioning that Amazon has multiple locations across the US metropolitan areas, protecting it from disruptions. They even mentioned that they do not expect any effect on operations during one of the busiest periods of the year.
Dan Romanoff, an analyst from Morningstar said “It is possible there may be some isolated incidents of delay, I just do not think there will be a material impact,".
The Teamsters Brotherhood also has given Amazon a deadline of Dec 15 for the beginning of the negotiations, yet the negations never happened. Even more so, the brotherhood says that it represents 10,000 for the Amazon facilities.
Janee Roberts, a 30-year-old resident who had worked for the facility said "Not only do I look at my coworkers and see how dog-tired and wear and tear it takes on their bodies, but we’re not even given proper benefits as part-timers”.
Amazon is expected to face other union actions in the next period of time. Germany’s United Services Union also announced that they will organize strikes to show they solidarity on Amazon’s warehouses in the next period.
By
Adam Brown
•
December 20, 2024 2:10 PM